


Path to Destiny Act I: Roses of Love & Beauty

by AnnaCipactli12



Series: Path to Destiny [1]
Category: Game of Thrones (TV), Reign (TV), Star Wars - All Media Types, The Tudors (TV), The White Queen (TV)
Genre: Complicated Relationships, Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-06
Updated: 2016-11-20
Packaged: 2018-05-05 05:56:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 54
Words: 284,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5363960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaCipactli12/pseuds/AnnaCipactli12
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the Galactic Empire is established, Darth Sidious clones dead royals to help him keep law and order on Earth, one of them turns her back on the emperor, while the remaining royals are torn between staying loyal to the Empire or remain in hiding. Major character death, canon and non-cannon pairings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Becoming a monster

_"If I told you what I was_  
would you turn your back on me?  
And if I seemed dangerous would you be scared?  
I get the feeling that just because  
everything I touch isn't dark enough  
that this problem lies in me ..."  
~Monster by Imagine Dragons

_"Why are the innocent punished?  
Why the sacrifice?   
Why the pain?_   
_There aren't any promises.  
Nothing is certain. Only that some get called,_   
_some get saved. She will never know the hardship and grief_   
_of those left behind. We commit these bodies to the void_   
_with a glad heart._   
_For within each seed, there is a promise of a flower_   
_for within each death, no matter how small_   
_there is always a new life ..._   
_A new beginning."_   
_~Dillon from Alien 3 (1992)_

"Do you feel it?"

"Yes." Mary said, looking after her daughter. They were living in a deserted area in the planet of Tatooine. Owen had come to her hut for the second time in a row, begging. No! Demanding to give up her daughter. She was not going to do that. Jane was all she had. After Anakin had taken her kingdom, her kin, and half of what she owned, her daughter and her mother's rosary were all she had left.

~o~

Owen had to tell Mary the truth. They were looking after Anakin's offspring, his firstborn son by his wife. His true wife. Not her. It destroyed her but that was a risk he was willing to take so she would give up the last link she had to Anakin. If Gods help them, Anakin or Vader as he loved to call himself now, found her, she would find Luke and with those two, they only knew what he was capable of. He was ambitious, his stepbrother was also ruthless and with Luke and Jane by his side, the Sith would be unstoppable.

~o~

Mary cried as Owen took her daughter away. She was unable to stop it. Obi Wan came, telling her that this was what her mother would've wanted. "No! My mother would have wanted me to keep her."

He shook his head and beckoned the former Queen to come. "Mother?" Katherine nodded. "How?"

The former Queen and Princess Dowager explained her everything. "But where did they find your blood. The only sample was from …"

"Exactly." Katherine said, touching her daughter's cheek. "I was raised to do one thing, my mother said that nothing could stand in my way so I fought for myself and for you. Now I have something else to fight for."

"You can't ask me to give up my daughter. I already gave my other daughter up, I can't give Jane up, she is … she is all I have."

"No, you have much more to give. The Force is real too. God is asking you to do this one sacrifice as he asked of Abraham when He asked him to give his son up. It won't be for long. You will see them again, I promise."

Mary shook her head vigorously. Katherine embraced her daughter and told her not to cry, then she left. "You did well Your Majesty."

"Do not call me that, I'm a queen no longer." Not even a Princess –Kat thought. What are you? She often wondered. An abomination? A thing grown in a lab? Whatever she was, one thing was clear, her soul hadn't changed. She's still the same girl who got down from her ship at Plymouth, the same girl who fought for what she believed in, and whose loyalties would always lay with God and her family.

~o~

When they reached her house, Obi Wan was surprised to find the ancient paintings that told of an ancient past, a glorious past for kings and queens on Earth, a time when superstition reigned, a time before the clone wars, before the Empire. One of them caught his attention, it was her. She didn't look a day older than now. "I was beautiful once."

"You are beautiful still." Obi Wan said. Despite his vows, he was still human and he had eyes.

"I can see why Henry and Arthur Tudor fell in love with you." Katherine smiled a sad smile at the mention of both of her husbands. "I am sorry that we couldn't save either of them."

"I didn't mind losing Henry. I know it sounds strange but when I was brought back, and the Emperor told me that my husband was dead, I didn't shed a tear. I was mad, yes. But not as mad as I expected. The only thing I could think of was the sweet boy I'd met on my way to London. How handsome he was even if he was just a child. He was such a jolly little fellow. But then I remembered what he did to me and Mary and I felt nothing but contempt …" She paused. "There were times, when I was languishing at Kimbolton, that I wondered if things would've been different if Arthur had lived. Imagine the bitterness that the Emperor left in my mouth when I learned that it was Arthur who had killed his brother."

"Love makes us fool of us all. It's why the Jedi forbid attachment."

"They weren't too wise were they?" Obi Wan didn't respond to this. The former Queen had valid cause to hate the Jedi. "I thought the Emperor was lying but when I saw Arthur, not a day older than I am today, I saw it in his eyes, the anger, the hatred. He would've killed Henry even if the Darth Sidious didn't tell him to." She took a locket from her top drawer in her living room. "He gave me this on our wedding night. He was so different from Henry. Henry was gentle, he wanted to be the great knight in shining armor. Arthur was ..." She snickered "Poor lad, he didn't know what to do, he was so embarrassed, I actually had to guide him. But when he finished he … he said the next day I have been in Spain. Of course that was not true, he didn't even … finish but he couldn't tell that to anyone so for an entire month I was the butt of jokes until his father decided to move us to Wales so we would get along and we did. The first two weeks were hell but then I convinced him to plant a garden to grow fruits native to my country and he agreed, I even showed him the different dishes we consumed and he became intrigued. During our third month together we tried, but he was always shy. He told me that he was afraid of disappointing me and his father hadn't allow him to know any women other than his wife, so he didn't have any experience. I tried to tell him 'Don't be embarrassed. We are man and wife now' I said but he had been too sheltered for his own good then the plague came and we became sick. I got better and I went to visit him, thinking he'd gotten better too but he'd gotten worse. It was around that time that he made me promise that I would become Henry's Queen, so our legacy would live through him. So when Henry came to me the first night, a virgin but unabashed unlike Arthur, I was content because I thought, now I can finally be a true wife to a true man. I was such a fool. I married two monsters and now my daughter has to look from afar at her youngest daughter."

It was ironic, the former Queen felt. Truly. All of the Trastamara women were bound to marry monster. Her mother, her sister, her, and now her daughter. But Mary was never truly married. Her conscience told her. No –She answered back. –But she made herself believe that she was and just like my rival, making yourself believe something you are not, is as true as if you were.

"Now what? The Jedi are destroyed. I have nothing left except to watch over my granddaughter and my eldest one is being raised by the former lady of Highgarden in Alderaan. Not to mention that we have no weapons and that Earth is currently occupied by those two bastards."

"We still have four important weapons-"

"Don't."

"As long as they live, there is still hope."

"You used Anakin for your own ends, I won't let you use those children as well. It's cruel."

"We have no choice. The Emperor feared them because he knew that if he were to have any offspring, they could defeat both him and their father. If we were to train them now, we can stand a chance to get back what we lost."

She gave a cold laugh. "We lost Obi Wan, even I know it. I don't have to die again to know that we've lost."

"The great Katherine of Aragon giving up?" Obi Wan asked with his typical dark humor.

"No, not giving up, Obi Wan. I am just being realistic. My mother won because she was realistic, not a dreamer like her brother or your useless apprentice." She could not say the man's name. Every time she heard his name, she could only envision her daughter, crying, disappointed to find out that she was just a body to keep his bed warm. The other woman, it was Padme whom he loved. And whom he'd always loved –her mind added. –My poor Mary. My poor foolish Mary.

"Anakin may had been many things but he loved your daughter. I know because I saw it. Before I left him on Mustafar he called her name."

Katherine laughed harder. "Love. What does he know of it? He only bedded my daughter so he could have more children and then pretended that everything would be alright and they could be one big happy family when he told her the truth. Your council was right, they should have left him to rot along with his slave mother in this God-forsaken planet!"

"Anakin was the chosen one, if he turned his back on the prophecy it wasn't because of me or love, it was because of the dark side."

"Facts don't lie Obi Wan, you can lie to yourself, just as the rest of your remaining brethren all you want, but I know the truth. That boy was meant for evil from the minute he was born." She sighed. "If what you say is true, then promise me something."

"Anything."

"Don't tell them truth. Not yet. Don't tell them what their father has become, and more importantly, don't tell them who their mothers were. They deserve to know the truth but I want them to know until they are older and wiser. I don't want them to grow up hating each other. I've seen what envy does among siblings and it's not something I want for them."

"I promise." Obi Wan.

That night Katherine dreamed of her daughter when she was little, when the Emperor had visited England and she had been so excited because it meant both of their countries and Houses would become one. Then she was haunted by the memories of her death, her fears that she would never see her daughter again and that she would end up alone and bitter. Then she opened her eyes and she saw herself surrounded by white walls. One of them opened and revealed an old man in a black cloak. He told her they'd remade her, cloned her and somehow she wasn't afraid by this. Soon after, she discovered that her soul had somehow found its way into this new body, just as the others had found their way into theirs, including Arthur's.

Katherine opened her eyes, this time for good. She rubbed her forehead. Every night was the same. She told Obi Wan that she thought Anakin was evil but the truth was, that she didn't. He reminded her of Henry when he was younger. The first time he came to Earth, to the English court, he was charming and Mary took a liking to him right away. She had to disappoint her daughter and tell him that the Jedi were from a different order that didn't allow them to get married but that didn't stop her daughter who like her father, if she wanted something, she did the impossible to get it. If the boy hadn't been a Jedi or the son of a slave, Katherine would have considered him a suitable match. But as the years passed and the changes in him became more evident, she tried to convince Henry to marry her daughter right away. She was even this close to admitting to her annulment so Mary could be married off (to anyone at that point) but then she remembered her mother, and what she told her her destiny way, and she resumed her fight.

"I should have just signed." It probably wouldn't have deterred Skywalker –who was married at that point- but it would have deterred her daughter who valued marriage above everything else.

She was tempted to take her speeder and visit Mary but she refrained herself from it. Mary needed to get used to the harsh life ahead, just as her mother and her mother before her. She had to learn the hard way.

* * *

**Four years later ...**

Anne watched as a little girl raced across the sand dunes next to her brother. She found Anne staring at them and told Luke to go, but Luke kept up going intrigued by their new neighbor who had set up her shop near their farm.

"Hi."

"Hi." Luke said back. "My sister said I shouldn't talk to strangers but I have to ask you miss, have we met before?"

"No, why would you ask me that?"

Luke shrugged. "I just got this weird feeling that we have and so does Janey."

"No, I don't. Don't listen to him, he has bantha poo on his brain."

"Ha-ha very funny. Well, don't stay here for long. You are new so word of advice, watch out for sand people. They come around this time of day."

"Come on Luke, we are going to miss our favorite show."

"Nice to meet you miss-"

"Anne ... Anne Boleyn!" She shouted but he and his sister were already on their way home. She knew that the little girl had misgivings about her. And how could she not when she is her mother's daughter? -Anne thought. -She likely inherited some of her memories.

The last time that she spoke to the Lady Mary had been three years ago after she had given up her daughter to the Lars. Her stepdaughter was naturally angry, and asked her to leave but Anne told her of the Rebellion and offered her to join, but Mary turned her down flat.

 _Some things never change._  She sighed and turned, walking back to her shop. Four years since the Emperor cloned her and she still felt miserable. She thought that being in this god-awful planet would make her feel better but it only made it worse. When she looked at the twins, she thought of her daughter and the son she'd lost. If those children were really the galaxy's last hope, then she had to make sure that nothing happened to them.

She had no word on Mary's whereabouts but knowing her, she was probably working on some scheme to get her daughters back. Anne didn't doubt the woman's love for her children, but was she really fit to be a mother? She had gotten in bed with Anakin Skywalker because she thought he was the chosen one and that he would fulfill his promise of leaving the Jedi Order to marry her, and make her Queen. It didn't matter what Obi Wan or his former apprentice said, that he was already married. Mary was blinded by her love, much as her father had been blinded by his own love for his many wives.

When he killed most of her family, she still clung to the vain hope that there was some good in him and that he would return to her. It took all of them to make her understand the harsh reality of what her beloved chosen one had become.

And even now ... she continues to be stubborn. -Anne thought, shaking her head lightly. Some things never change. If the Lady Mary did come here with the intention of taking her daughter, or worse, reveal to her the truth of her parentage, Anne was going to be ready for her and this time she was going to use the strongest weapon she had: the truth. To overpower. And tell her just how little she mattered to Anakin.

* * *

 

Mary cried as she turned around and looked at the Lars' homestead one more time _. I will never see them again._ But it was better this way -her head told her. This way, you won't have to feel remorse and see your mother in that man's arms. 

Arthur, her mother's first husband and her uncle had given her a harsh reality check. If the man wanted he could have slaughtered Anakin's offspring, but because Jane came from her and she came from Catherine, he was unable to. "Because your mother is what I desire." But he didn't know that she was here, so he had to settle for the next big thing: her.

When she reached Mos Eisley, she took a public transporter. It took her aboard the Star Destroyer where she had been given special clearance. She wasn't happy to see Lady Targaryen of Winterfell, but she could put up with her since they were both on the same boat now.

On that night she told her "You better be careful. It's one thing to have slept with Darth Vader, it's another to sleep with your uncle."

"He is not my uncle and we both know it so let's stop with the pretenses my lady." She told her.

Sansa waved her hand dismissively. "Very well but don't say I didn't tell you. Men aren't so fond of seeing other men playing with their toys."

"Some men but Vader is not one of those." She told her. Besides, she added, whatever they had, it was over. _He left me for *her*._ Just thinking about the late Senator from Naboo made her blood boil. She wanted the woman to be alive just so she could tare down her brown tresses.

When Arthur came, it didn't take her long to throw herself in his arms. This was what she wanted. This was who she was. He wanted power, she wanted prestige. But most of all, she wanted Tudor blood to flow through her veins.

_"It's sad to say but deep down you must have known you were not a Tudor. Otherwise, why wouldn't your mother, fair Catherine, taken England to battle against my brother? She could've won. The commons supported her, she had the support of her niece and nephew, the Emperor and Empress for God's sake."_

Mary put that previous conversation out of her mind as she let herself go and forgot all about Anakin, her mother and her true parentage.

~o~

Arthur woke from his slumber. Three months since he had welcomed Mary into his arms and he still couldn't stop thinking about her. About his fair Catalina. She was his soulmate. Fate had stolen her from him. 

Not realizing he spoke his thoughts aloud after he went to the living room, his father appeared before him. "No, not fate, you and I know better than that."

"What are you doing here?"

"Same thing as you I suppose. Trying to figure out a way to get my family out of this mess. Son, I always gave the impression that I didn't love any of you, but I did what I had to do to make sure all of you stayed alive. I wanted you to become the greatest King that ever lived Arthur. You were my proudest achievement, truly."

"Really? Is that why you wanted to get in my bride's farthingale during my wedding night? Don't pretend that I didn't know. You tried to drug me so you could sleep with her. You desired her father, admit it."

"Your mother put so many lies in your head and so did mine. I have loved only one woman and that is your mother."

Arthur snorted. "You are such a hypocrite. If it wasn't for you two I would have fully consummated my marriage and had a baby or two in her belly before that bitch goddess of hers took me."

"That bitch goddess is your ancestress and she is no longer a threat to you. Sidious and Plagueis saw to that. I didn't come here to fight."

"Then why did you come here? Why don't you go back to the hell hole from where you came from or better yet, go back to where that whore who lied to her children's faces on how much she loved us. I don't want to see any of you again."

"You can call us what you like but we are your parents and we are not leaving you."

"Then I will ignore you, because I sure as hell am not going to leave the Empire that has given me so much. For the first time I am free to make my destiny. I have what I have always wanted."

"Including Catalina?" Henry asked, using the same tone that made people nervous and to mock his enemies. But it didn't work with Arthur who gave his father a sardonic smile.

"Catalina will come back to me once she sees that I am her destiny, for now I have her daughter."

"You know she will never love you. Her heart was always with that Jedi."

"She will love me." Arthur said, his tone hardening. "I will see to it that she does."

"I guess the apple didn't fall far from the tree. I always told your mother her father's bad traits would be passed down to our sons. I was right. So long son." Henry said, smiling at his eldest son one more time before he vanished. His smile told him that this wouldn't be the last time he saw him.

Sneaky as always, Henry VII would return and this time with his mother, or worse, Arthur's mother to give him another tiresome sermon. By then Arthur would be more prepared showing them just how cruel he could be and they would be powerless, especially his  _sweet_ mother.


	2. Beneath the stains of time

****_"Erase myself and let go_  
of what I've done  
What you've asked  
What you thought of me  
While I clean this slate with the hands of uncertainty  
so let mercy come and wash away  
What I've done."  
~What I've done by Linkin Park

**_"Everyone who isn't us is the enemy." ~Cersei Lannister, Game of Thrones_ **

"Lady Mary has finally lost it." Anne told Obi Wan, knowing he didn't want to hear the obvious when she was his daughter. "You know I always wondered how is it that you and the Princess Dowager or Queen Katherine if you prefer to remember her by, met."

"She was not a Queen or a Princess when we met. She was an Infanta, scared on her new trip."

"Oh, you must have made quite an impression. A fallen angel dropped from the sky, guiding the ship with your big one."

"There was hardly any storm, John Skelton glamorized that whole trip. The seas were fine as I can remember, it was only the captain who had a piss poor time keeping things under control. My master told me to take the wheel so I took it."

"How is it that you managed to pilot a wooden ship? Your people always made fun of our backwards accomplishments." Anne pointed out, sounding not too pleased. While Catherine always had nothing but good words to say about the Jedi, Anne had more than enough to say about their hypocrisy. Every idiot could see that he and Catherine were in love, she and her father tried setting them up so they could be discredited but thanks to Cromwell that never came to be. That pesky nobody to-good-thinking-of-himself-nasty man thought he was a good man because their order's ideals happened to coincide with a lot of theirs. _That may be_  –Anne told him at the time – _But Obi Wan is not a true Jedi._  How come? Her brother asked her after that discussion and Anne told him why. Obi Wan had always loved more than one woman, although the other women were based on his ideal one and that was Catherine. Siri, the Duchess, they were nothing more than stand-ins for the one that got away.

"You learn a lot traveling with Qui-Gon. And I wasn't the only equipped with piloting a ship. Our co-pilot would've too if he wasn't too busy ogling some of the princess-to-be ladies." Anne chuckled. "It's been a long time since I uttered my master's name, or went back to that day."

"You miss him."

It wasn't a question.

"Yes. Yes, I do." He answered her truthfully, since he had nothing more to say while they waited for the sand storm to be over. Catherine still didn't trust this woman and who could blame her? Obi Wan however had no time to hold grudges when the future of the galaxy was at stake.

"When did you meet her?"

"There, she was beautiful but I knew she belonged to Prince Arthur and we both did our duty until a little before you and your sister visited court. She was miserable because she had lost another boy so I comforted her. I was still a Padawan, young and idealist and I thought I could help her but then …"

"She dumped you. Sorry, this planet has caught on me. And I keep hearing your grandchildren say those words over and over."

"Well it is not a fine word but an accurate description of my predicament then."

"If it makes you feel any better, she never stopped loving you. When you and your apprentice came to court and he fell in love with your daughter, I could see the way she looked at you. I think the only reason she fought that hard –oh I am sorry, I know that is not a topic you love to talk about but let us be honest –she fought for your daughter because she didn't want shame to rain down on her and because she was proof that you loved her." There was accusation in her voice.

"I do love her." Obi Wan said, dead serious. "But what she was asking me was something I couldn't do and neither could she."

"And Satine, what was she if not a stand in for her? Before they chopped off my head I heard the rumors how you nearly gave everything for her. Do you think that didn't hurt the Infanta?"

"Satine was different for reasons I don't even know but if you want to make this about me the fine, make it about me but don't presume you know me or Katherine because you don't and you never will." Then he said "I could say the same thing about you. You enchanted the king, you and your family plotted for Katherine's removal so you could be his mistress but that wasn't enough for you. No, you had to have it all so you put yourself in his bed and denied him what he wanted and that made you desirable. I've seen plenty like you all the time."

"Women."

"No. Politicians. You think you can treat people the way you like because you can but you don't know a thing about human nature, if you did, you would know your schemes never get you anywhere."

"Oh they do Master Kenobi, it is you who doesn't know a fucking thing about human nature. Katherine loved you and was willing to abandon everything, including her husband just for you but you preferred duty. Imagine how it felt when she found out that you nearly did the same thing for this woman whom you claimed you didn't love."

"I did love Satine. I loved both Siri and Satine but they had one problem."

"They were not her." Again, it was not a question. Anne laughed. "You men." After a long silence she said "When did you know?"

"Know what?"

"Come on, you know what I am asking."

Obi Wan did not debate her, he had no desire to argue with this woman. "

"Christmas or as some of you called it, Yule-tide. When Anakin moved past the new Queen, Jane Seymour to her, I knew then."

"You never suspected?"

"I suspected but if you wish to know the Force awful truth –I never wanted to admit it. Every day when she smiled, when she tried to appeal to her father I saw myself staring back at my master and the other Jedi apprentices. I wanted to tell her the truth but before she died, Katherine asked me not to so I kept my promise."

"How did she ever find out?"

"Arthur."

Anne's eyes widened. "Ho-" Before she could finish her sentence Obi Wan answered for her. "Right after her daughter turned one she came to my hut and said she received a message from Prince –or Inquisitor Arthur as he likes to be known now telling her all about the cloning program. He told her that they –you, Katherine and Arthur- were not clones because for whatever reason your souls had found themselves into your new bodies and Sidious knew this –which is why he wanted Arthur and Katherine back, so the two could trace Mary and myself and kill us before she gave birth. When that failed, Arthur was set loose and he told Mary everything."

Obi Wan smiled a sad smile. He still heard his daughter's angry words as she threw everything at him and he prevented them from landing in his face by waving them off.  _"I hate you!"_  It shouldn't have mattered since she never grew up with him and he never knew her, but it did because it reminded him of another man, her age who had also screamed the same things after he'd failed him.

 _Perhaps this will become the new Kenobi tradition –Disappointing parents._  The Force only knew that Mary was moving to become one of the most ruthless people in the galaxy along with Commander Targaryen and his wife, Sansa of House Stark.

"We don't choose who we fall in love Master Kenobi. You made a choice and you are paying for it, just as I am. That is what we do, we suffer in silence and let the rest pay for our sins."

"Your reputation is well-earned Mistress Boleyn."

"As is yours." Anne returned with a mischievous smile. "Let's celebrate shall we not? Dornish wine, my favorite." She poured them two glasses. Obi Wan never had a taste for terrestrial things, but Dornish wine was a minor exception. "A delicate drink for a less civilized age." She joked, using Obi Wan's old words.

Obi Wan chuckled. "Catherine always hated when I said that, now she regrets it because she does see that Earth was un-civilized."

"Perhaps but it is no better now, is it?"

Obi Wan agreed sipping more of his wine.

"It's so sad. I met Lady Stark, Lady Stark's mother before she turned into that deadly hag and she was one of the finest women I had ever met. She was there as a guest of Queen Claude's when I was serving Her Grace in France. What a lady, my sister and I wanted to emulate her. She had a grace –I can't explain it but there was just this aura around her and she was very beautiful despite being thirty then. And we could tell how she and Lord Stark loved each other. It's so sad what happened to them. Even sadder what happened to his daughter. She didn't deserve that. Queen Cersei should have never done what she did, if you ask me she was just asking for trouble."

"Queen Cersei was a poor soul who was turned into a monster by her transgressors."

"You are too kind on her, you always were but I guess it was hindsight now that Anakin and Mary are what they are." Obi Wan had no opinion there. Talking about Anakin was reopening old wounds he had no wish to reopen. "I cried no tears when I heard they had nailed the bitch to a cross and exhibited her body before the crowds of angry citizens of King's Landing. She deserved it. I am only sad for Sansa."

"You have said that three times."

"I know, I can't help it when that girl deserved nothing that happened to her. She was innocent and everyone knew it but nobody moved a damn finger for her. I asked Henry to tell Cersei to bring her with us under the guise of imprisonment. I made a promise to her mother before she died in a letter that I would protect her if that man-like woman didn't do her job but I had lost two sons then, the latter which condemned me." She took another sip of her plastic cup. "Poor girl, she was like a moth drawn to the flame just like me. So full of illusions, all she ever talked about –her mother told me- was princes and knights. If I had had a son as old as her I would have convinced Henry to give everything to marry his to her. But then, Henry would have still said no because Cromwell and my father would have been there to convince him it was too dangerous."

"It was. Not to agree with your beloved husband" he said sarcastically "but it would have been a risk. Cersei was not a forgiving woman and the only reason the Empire could take her on is because they had Vader and unlike Cersei, Vader would have enjoyed watching her suffer, and if he could, torture her spirit in the afterlife."

"I don't think that is it. If I had given Henry that son, he would have done it but there was always Cromwell and my father. You knew Cromwell, you know that he was far more manipulative than the Emperor. Perhaps the Emperor shouldn't have burned him and his family, or More's."

It's a shame what happened to both men and their families. It was by some miracle that Obi Wan managed to convince More to sign the damn act, but as Mary whose visions were vague and harder to figure out than Anakin's, they ended up dying anyway. They hung More's daughter first and televised it in the intergalactic network for everyone to watch, including in the Outer Rim where the Empire was barely noticed, and then the rest of the More's followed by Greggory Cromwell, and then two men side by side, mocked by the commons who had been at the center of the religious wars. First they were spit and thrown rocks, then they were set on fire.  
He remembered Catherine shedding a tear when she found out, and shedding two more when she saw Mary next to her former husband, smiling with glee as she read the Emperor's decree that half of the new provinces were going to be in Arthur Tudor's control, while the other half would be on Lady Sansa Targaryen nee Stark who would act as Grand Moff (even though she was not one). In addition, the two would get to supervise three minor planets known for being rebellious hot-spots in collaboration with the rising star in the empire –(then) Captain Tarkin.

"It doesn't matter now that the Emperor got its clutches under two people we love. Me, Sansa and you Mary and Anakin."

"He is not Anakin anymore. The boy I trained died in that fiery planet. The man that came from there is someone else entirely."

"And your daughter? Don't you feel sad for her?"

"I do, but I must also be a realist."

Anne frowned, angry that he could be expressing such thoughts. If Elizabeth was still alive, it didn't matter if she turned dark, she would never abandon her.

"Mary made her choice. You were right Mistress Boleyn. We make our choices and we must live with them. Anakin made his choice to die in that fiery pit of hell and so did Mary when she delivered herself into the arms of the enemy."

~o~

After the storm, Obi Wan returned to his usual routine except that this time he felt different. His conversation with Anne had worn him out and unable to contain his anger anymore, he journeyed to Catherine's house where she was still working on her students' papers.

"Ben, what is this?" He didn't let her finish and kiss her.

"No more pretenses, no more hiding, I always loved you, the only reason why I chose Satine was because she reminded me of you and it is not good to say it but it is the truth damn it, and so did Siri. They were all stand-ins for you."

Catherine arched an eyebrow. "Were you drinking?"

"Yes but that's beside the point. I love you Catherine, and I kept my promise to you even when the truth was eating me inside. I wish that I could have told our daughter the truth but I didn't."

"Ben-"

"No, let's just do this. I left you, if you leave me now we are even but you won't do that because then you will be forcing me to leave you which will not make us even." He put his hands on her face.

"Obi Wan you are not making any bloody sense."

Obi Wan took his hands off her face. True, he wasn't.  _Damn liquor._  This was the last time he let Mistress Boleyn get him into drinking.

"Were you drinking with Mistress Boleyn?"

Obi Wan knitted his eyebrows giving her a look that asked her 'how do you know?'

Catherine showed him a holo-pad which showed Anne's text message.

Obi Wan swore an oath.

"Ben go home. I can't do this, I love you, I always have but look what happens every time we are together. Look what happened at Mary. What if something like that happens to our granddaughter? I couldn't' live with myself and neither could you."

"It won't happen."

"How do you know?"

"Because the future is not set Catherine. Nobody predicted you'd be brought back and that your soul would come back, but it happened. The Jedi are gone but they can be brought back, and this time they can be something different. That's why Jane and Luke are special because they represent that new change."

"What about the others? Leia and Marion? Ring a bell? What about them? Don't they get to change the future too?"

"Only time will tell."

Catherine crossed her arms. "Still the same. You Jedi think that might equals wisdom but it doesn't. Jane and Luke might have the higher midi-chlorian number but that doesn't mean that they can defeat their father or in Jane's case her mother as well. It just means they can do more magic tricks. But true power comes from here" she pointed to her chest "and here" she pointed to her head "And if the two aren't allowed to grow up intellectually and emotionally then they will never defeat the Empire."

"That is why they have you." Obi Wan neared her, taking her hands. "You are their teacher, you will guide them, lead them through your influence. I know you can." Obi Wan then kissed her and this time she didn't pull away.

* * *

_"_ _I can give you vengeance." He whispered in her ear. "Don't you want vengeance?" "Yes." She whispered and let her hands fall to her sides, while he lowered his hands to her cunt._

Mary woke to the sound of thundering footsteps. "My lady. I am sorry to interrupt but your son…"

"Yes?"

"He fell." Mary was up at once.

"What? How did this happen? Why wasn't his governess with him?" She demanded as she adjusted her robe. She preferred long gowns over this, but it was the only thing that enticed Arthur and made him forget about her mother.

"My lady it is two at the morning, surely you don't expect-"

Mary didn't let him finish. "Don't expect? What do you think I expect? My son could've been killed or worse, kidnapped by angry radicals and you just stand here and tell me you are sorry, distracting me with your pitiful stories."

"My lady I beg your forgiveness but 'tis you who- Ah!" She fell to the ground clutching her cheek. Mary took a tower from her bathroom and threw it at her. "For goodness sake clean yourself up girl and stop stuttering."

The female Stormtrooper who had made a mistake of coming without her uniform because she thought that being transferred to Lady Mary's service wouldn't be so bad as working with Vader, Targaryen or Tarkin, wouldn't be so bad, now regretted her decision. She moved her lips, ready to give her a piece of her mind when Mary leaned forward and whispered in her ear. "You don't want me to call my husband do you?"

The girl gasped. Lord Tudor was famous for his cruelty. He was way up there with Targaryen and his wife, and Vader himself.

"No, no miss please don't. I am sorry, I promise it won't happen again-"

"It's Lady to you, you stupid girl. Now get up before my husband comes."

 _He's not your husband you two-times slut!_  The Stormtrooper wanted to scream. Everyone in the empire knew what a slut she was, just like her mother who cuckolded her husband with that Jedi scum, Obi wan Kenobi. She got up and ran back to her quarters where her roommate was asleep so she took advantage of that, and silently wept.

Mary ran to her son's bedroom. He was running around in circles with his dog. "Mommy!"

"My son! How is my little prince?" She sat on his bed and placed him on her knees. "Look how much you've grown. How long has it been since you saw mommy, huh?"

"One year. Mommy did lady Atana tell you that I fell? I got my first scar. Look!"

"Yes, she did and it doesn't look as bad as she said it was but you must be very careful my son. One fall and it can kill you. Remember your lessons. What happened to our ancestor, the long, long ago Capetian prince?"

"He fell so his useless brother became King Louis."

"Exactly, and he was very useless but you are not. That's why you must be on high alert all the time." Mary said, massaging the small wound on his knee. Kids got knee scraps all the time –her husband told her. It was normal, but she wasn't like Arthur who didn't care if her son suffered a minor fall or got into mock fights with the other kids. Mary wanted him to be preserve him. He was more than her son, he was her jewel, her pearl. After she was forced to give up her twin daughters and Arthur told her the awful truth of her parentage, he was all she had.

Owen nodded. "Mommy, why dad comes to visit me more than you? Why are you away all the time? Are you sad?"

"No. Why do you ask that?"

"Because I feel it." That made his mother tense.

"You must never mention that in anyone's presence but mine, alright?" Owen nodded. "If the wrong people find about it, they could hand you over to the Emperor and you know he is a bad man."

"Why do you and daddy work for him if he is bad?"

"Because we must." Her son looked bewildered. "Someday when you are older and stronger like your parents, you will understand why adults do the things they do, but let this suffice you for now: Whatever we do, we do it because we love you." Mary said and tucked him in bed. His golden retriever got on top of him. That dog was attached to him. Mary wasn't superstitious but there was something funny about that dog. Every time he sensed someone wanted to attack him (like last week when a rebel had infiltrated their base and tried to kidnap her son), he would attack that person back. The lady Melisandre who –god only knew why- Jon had her around him said cryptically to her that  _'He will always protect him. He is his spirit animal.'_

"Night Owen." Mary said, while the dog looked at her with a sorrowful look. She turned her back, turned off the light and went back to her bedroom where Arthur was, asleep and with his back turned on her. She got on the other side of the bed and wrapped her arms around his waist pulling him closer. When he turned, there she was, her lips curled up into an inviting smile. He took her invitation and got on top of her.

Mary closed her eyes and moaned. Arthur wasn't her husband, but that didn't matter to them. They were both driven by lust and revenge and that had been enough for them. But as time passed, Mary found herself fascinated with him. It was more than just her son, it was her love of him. He helped her forget Anakin and the years of neglect as Henry's daughter, and the lies her mother had told her about her so called 'father'.

 _I trusted that woman and she gave me lies._  It was no wonder why Cersei got along with her mother. They were so alike. _Good thing that bitch is dead._  Now she just needed to finish the job by killing the other one.

* * *

"Catherine come to bed." Catherine said in a moment. She stared at the silent streets of her neighborhood. There were the usual gangs but nothing more. It was usually very quiet around this time of year when less pilots came, which meant less drugs and human trafficking.

One thing Anakin Skywalker had done and kept his promise on, was in eliminating the slave trace but that didn't stop the illegal activities from the Hutts who kidnapped homeless people and sold them off to rich families in Coruscant or the other rich sectors in the galaxy under the guise of 'housing' for orphans or victims of Hutt crimes. Catherine shook her head. No matter how many times people tried to change things for the better, it always backfired.

She remembered when she was her daughter's age. She had been hardened but still idealist. Her darling Mary was now a shell of what she was, and it didn't help that Arthur was taking advantage of that. He wasn't her uncle biologically but Mary had grown thinking that he was, so the thought of them … it was morally reprehensible!

 _God please protect my daughter. Guide her, do not let Arthur corrupt her more. Take her out of him._  So frantic was she that she didn't notice Obi Wan coming. Even if he couldn't read minds as he always showed off, he could guess what she was thinking by her pose alone, and feeling what she felt.

"You are thinking about Mary."

"You were right. I should have told her and I should have never let you keep that promise. I wanted Mary to grow up as a loved child, with the childhood that I remembered with my parents. Even if they didn't love each other, they were good parents and I loved my time in Spain. I wanted to give her everything."

"You gave her everything Cate. You can't fault for yourself for how she turned."

"No?" She turned to face him, giving him a kiss on his mouth, a small kiss that felt short compared to the ones they shared moments earlier. "Get that goofy grin out of your face old man."

"Old? Forgive me, my lady but you are aging as well."

"Ha, still that dark sense of humor. I may be aging but don't forget I am aging gracefully since I am a Queen." Obi Wan chuckled. It was amazing how they could find humor even in times such as these.

"I worry about Owen, Obi Wan. He is growing with both parents at the service of the Emperor, who knows what he will be capable of. If he is force-sensitive …" She didn't want to think about it.

Obi Wan comforted her, embracing her and telling her nothing will happen because if Owen grew up as he suspected he would, then he would play right in their hands and when he did, they would be honest with him and tell him the god-awful Force truths about his parents and the Empire.

* * *

Arthur felt guilty. He wished he could make himself fall in love with Mary, but all he saw when he was with her was Catalina and the life they could've had if Mary's father hadn't arrived.  _Or my brother._  Catalina felt horrified when she told him what he'd done to Henry.  _"But it's all for you. It has always been for you. I am your future Cat, we are meant to be together."_  But she didn't want to listen. The Emperor had told him he could erase her memories. She would be like a clean slate, and young as they both were, she could fall in love and it would be 1501 all over again but he couldn't do that to her. He wanted her to remember everything, so she could realize that he -and only he- was her true love. But Obi Wan had to get in the way.

When he found where her daughter was hiding -and better yet, that she was that man's daughter instead of his brother's as she'd been led to believe, he exacted revenge by telling her. She was completely vulnerable, just having given up her children so they could be safe from the Emperor and their father's clutches that she fell into his. But he never intended to sleep with her. That had been in the heat of the moment during one of their many discussions, when they were talking about her mother and their plans to avenge their losses against the remaining Jedi. She kissed him first. He wanted to push her away. But after waiting so long to have Cat in his arms, she was the only thing he had to compare to his beloved Infanta.

Same heart-shaped face, dark auburn hair and rosebud lips, except for her eyes. Those were her father's but it didn't matter. Imagining what Obi Wan's reaction would be, he acted on his most basic instincts, and whispered in her ear before she was assaulted by her reason as he nearly was if she wanted revenge and when she said yes, he made love to her.

Every day they were together, he imagined her mother's eyes instead of hers and what his life would be if Catalina was the one sleeping next to him instead of her, and more importantly the kind of mother she'd be to his little Owen.

Mary asked him why he didn't want to name his son 'Henry' and he said that there had been enough Henrys. But the real reason was that he didn't want to name another Tudor, Henry. The Henry Tudors in his family had caused nothing but misery. His father, then his brother tossing Cat aside for that commoner. He wanted to start anew and what better way than to go back to the start with the man that made their dynasty possible? Owen Tudor.

Besides his son, he was grateful, got Arthur's looks and none of his father and brother's arrogance. He worried Mary was spoiling by giving him too much; but she had everything taken away from her, so this was her way to make up for lost time by giving her son the life she always wanted.

_If Catalina was his mother, she would never cease to visit him and put strict rules on him while still being affectionate to him. Mary only knows pampering and affection because she only knew the opposite after my brother disinherited her._

He took his holo-pad and drew another picture of Catalina. His father was very good at drawing, Henry too, but he was terrible. He had been taking lessons though, and he'd gotten better. This was his best drawing of her yet. In a long dress, with a small crown on top of that silly cardinal-like hat which was the same color of her dress, adorned with precious gems that she wore to their wedding at St. Paul's. When he felt Mary stir, he locked and turned off his holo-pad and went back to sleep.


	3. National Anthem of Greed

**"Money is the anthem of success**   
**Hold me for ransom**   
**he says to be cool**   
**but I don't know higher**   
**I ask can we part of later on**   
**I say yes**

**Tell me I'm your national anthem**   
**Red, white blue in the skies**   
**summer is in the air, summer is in the skies**

**Money is the reason we exist,**   
**everyone knows it is a fact**   
**so kiss, so kiss."**   
**~National Anthem by Lana del Rey**

Anne hated the rumors spread about her. Henry Howard, the Earl of Surrey tried to make a pass on her and she rebuffed him and he wrote a terrible poem about her, saying that she was haughty and spread her legs for just about anyone. It wasn't true. Anne was faithful to her husband. She wasn't Catherine Fillol. She wasn't like the other women who flaunted themselves before their husband's handsome fathers or younger brothers to get back at them.

"Why are you still eating at the dinner table?" She asked her eldest son. It was no secret the two didn't get along. "Your father told you to get to work two hours ago. You are meeting him at dock delta."

"I am trying mother." He said, using that tone he reserved for his worst enemies at the Academy.

She sighed. "Edward I am really trying but if you keep this up, you are not going to advance and our rebellion will be lost."

"Why do we need a rebellion? The country is well as it is. The planet!" Some of their servants turned their heads to them.

"Keep your voice down."

"All I am saying is, we don't need another rebellion. The Emperor has granted us our freedom, freedoms we didn't have before the Empire. We don't need kings and queens anymore. We can be free at last."

"Those are all very good points Edward, except that it's not true freedom when we have a dictator in power."

"Why do you want this rebellion? It's not going to turn back the clock. Edward is dead mom, so is uncle Thomas."

"People in the Empire think that people like us that we want to gratify us, while they want to make the galaxy stronger. That is pure bollocks. Ridley is filling your head with lies."

"Ridley is a good girl mom. If we were back in the old regime, she'd be your slave."

"Don't be silly, England didn't have slaves." His mother said but his son laughed and gave her a 101 of the world she tried to ignore. "Those were not slaves, they were serfs. Learn your terminology and they were free under the law. If our King wasn't wise, it was because his councilors did not level up with him."

"Then he was stupid then. If a King can't take control of his business then he is no true king. Besides, if the Republic was so great in Genoa, Venice, or even the Galactic Senate then ... why did the Empire take control? Why did they allow slavery or the dangerous pod-races where a nine year old human boy was nearly killed?"

"No government is perfect sweetheart, that doesn't mean that dictatorship is the answer."

"Neither is kingship." He countered.

Anne sighed. "Eddie, I know we've been through harsh times but you can't let their propaganda get to you."

On the Academy, he met with the former Lord Commander and his wife, Sansa Stark now Targaryen. Lord Targaryen barely saw him, as he barely saw the other cadets. Or so it seemed. He pretended to be uninterested but he remembered every face. _"Kill the boy, let the man in."_ Maester Aemon had told him before they killed him.

"You should kill that boy." Jon's wife told him.

"That's not your concern. The boy serves his purpose as does the rest of them."

"He is a spy Jon. His father was Edward Seymour and his mother is still an ambitious harlot like so many named Anne. You should kill him before he puts a bullet in your head."

"If he does, I will know before he does the bloody deed. It was a joke, Sansa. He won't I assure you." Jon said to his wife.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because he is a boy who is eager to prove himself to the Empire, and because he wants to un-blacken his family's name. And he's the only one who can help us find his uncle."

"Do you still think they are alive? After all this time?"

"If there was one man who can escape death, it's Thomas Seymour, I assure you." He said repeating his favorite phrase. Jon was so sure of everything that he loved to jest with his men that sometimes it was as if he knew nothing. _'A man who shows off their knowledge is either brilliant or an idiot.'_ His wife turned her head every time he said this. Her red hair was the only thing that reminded him of his true love for Ygritte, the wildling that treacherous boy, Olly, was killed during Mance's attempt siege of Castle Black.  
Oh, how she loved how Jon tortured that poor boy. Among his officers, it was whispered that his screams still haunted the lower levels of the Prime Executor. Some even claimed to have seen his ghost.

"And if he is dead, then what?" She asked, cocking her head to one side as he smiled at her. That same secretive smile that won so many women over.

"Then he is dead and we won't have to worry about one less pretender. Lady Mary called me last time, she said that you weren't being cordial to her. I told you we need her support Sansa, bastard as she is, she is Lord Tudor's companion and if she is successful she will be one rank higher than you my dearest love."

"I don't have to answer to bastards, much less disgraced ones like her. If you wish me to act the fool and smile at her, I will do so but don't expect me to be friends. I don't socialize with whores and neither should you." His wife told him, hiding her disgust behind a veil of smiles and pleasantries.

Jon didn't deny her that. But he also reminded her how he had also been a bastard before his parentage became known.

"Assuming I am to shake hands with her, what then? Betroth our daughter to her whelp?"

"If that's what it takes to end this petty quarrel between you two then yes!"

"I am a Stark of Winterfell and Mistress of many territories. I answer only to my husband and my people so if you are really eager about this-"

"I am."

"-then I will do it. For you. But don't expect me to be all smiles when you force our daughter to walk down the aisle when you wed her to that whelp."

* * *

Owen was just a kid but he loved playing the tune his mother sang him at night. She came to visit him more often, as she promised. And his father brought him many gifts, including a woodcut of his parents, as he remembered them when he was Owen's age.

"Who is this baby in grandma's arms?"

"That is my youngest sister, Princess Elizabeth. She was named after your grandmother and great-grandmother."

"Why haven't I heard of her?" Owen asked his father.

"She died when I was very young, son. I never got to meet her but my mother used to tell me stories about her, she said that she was the sweetest baby."

"Was I as tiny when I was baby?"

"No, this is just a recreation. You were very big. Your mother used to say that she was as big as a whale when she was pregnant with you. She was very happy when you were born." Arthur told him, smiling in recollection of that day.

"Which one of you named me?"

"That would be me. Guilty as charged." Arthur said with a grin. "Owen was my great-grandfather, your great-great-grandfather. He went against the law to marry the French Princess who was England's greatest hero's widow, Catherine of Valois. But they loved each other so much that they didn't care about the law. She got pregnant with his children and then they were discovered and he was placed under arrest while she was watched by her son's minions."

"Why didn't they execute them?"

"They should have. But Owen was a loyal Lancastrian and Katherine had royal blood. That's why it is important that you know your history Owen. You carry great blood in your veins. You are the grandson of one of the most courageous women in history. She moved armies, she married two kings, and she loved three men" _including me_ –he thought "and she gave birth to your mother. It is thanks to her that you are here. You have her blood and mine, my father against all odds won the crown and didn't care a fig about what people said as long as he stayed in power. When you get older, you will hear many social deviants say bad things about the Empire. Don't listen to any of them. You are a great person and you will do great things if you stay on track."

"What about the people at the Academy. There are kids who are saying bad things about you and mom. I got in trouble last week for punching two of them. Mom was very mad."

"As she should, but you were right in defending her honor. Next time they say something bad about her, remind them who you are by boasting about your heritage and your grades. They might be the big fish in the classroom right now but once they graduate they will find themselves in a tiny cell with rats eating their dinner and insects in their ears."

"Ew!" He said, covering his mouth at the thought of it. "Do they really spoon fed the prisoners? Will you let me see one day?"

"When you get older. For now focus on your studies, and remember what I said."

Arthur envied his son some times. He had the childhood Arthur never had. With him it was studying this, saying this or that. Until he saw Katherine, he didn't understand why his father wanted him to work so hard. Who was he going to impress? His maids, his servants, his gardener? No one ruled in Wales except the King, he was just the figurehead.

But all of that changed when he met her. Mary's mother was sweet, but behind that sweetness was a political animal that was more astute and ambitious than his own grandmother. Everything he did, he did it so he could impress her. When he was smiled, he felt like he was on drugs. Being around her was toxic. He imagined the two of them growing old and going down in history as the two greatest monarchs in history. Much like her parents. But then death took him.

It was only through some miracle that his soul managed to find its way to his cloned body. The witch, or better yet, that triad of witches who were one with his bitch ancestress, Melusine, cursed his line through his father. The goddess took him first then his brother's many sons. Luckily Melusine who was just that, a spirit. No different than any Sith's spirit vanished once Plagueis confined her spirit into another mortal body. One of her descendants no less. Mary Tudor. His wife. Mary didn't know, but knowing his wife, she probably suspected. What else explained for her vindictive attitude against her own family members and her constant feeling of hurt?

At least she got a taste of her own medicine. Arthur couldn't fault her for being angry. He would too and you know what they say about women, especially force-sensitive. Hell hath no fury as their scorn. He mentally chuckled. He saw his mother's ghost at times, as well as his father's, brother's and the rest of his fucking family. Always berating him for his actions.

After he left Owen's room, they appeared before Owen. This time, only the women were present. "Hi Owen."

"Hi. Dad says you shouldn't be here. Same as my mother. If she sees you here she will bring the Emperor and last time he encountered a ghost he killed all of its remaining family."

"Are you afraid to die?" Jacquetta asked her great-grandson.

Owen surprised her shaking his head. "I am a big boy, or as I call myself a responsible young adult. That's how old people were in your time, weren't they? When they were finally considered adults. Twelve for women, fourteen for boys. I can take care of myself. In a year I will be thirteen then who knows where I will be sent. But if I die, I will die. Period."

"You can do much more with your life, if you wish to."

Owen didn't say anything. "If you just apply that same valor for the Rebellion-" In that moment Mary came in and cut her off. "Talking to dead women? What did I tell you about talking to witches Owen? Look at you, my sweet boy. You are going to be late for your date with Lady Lyanna, remember to be a gentlemen."

"Yes mother." Owen said, bowing down his head, showing deep respect for her and exiting before he heard the strong discussion between the four women.

"If you touch one hair of his head I will make sure that every descendant of yours, including me, suffers."

"Those are strong words for the woman who whored with two men."

"Don't lecture me about whoring lady grandmother. You opened your legs before your marriage became valid in the eyes of the law and god. If grandma here hadn't used me to get fuck grandfather and sock his cock while his cousin attempted to secure an alliance that could have avoided so much bloodshed, you would have gone down in history as another whore."

Jacquetta and Bess looked at each other. What was the meaning of this? They thought she didn't know.

"Oh yes, I've known for quite a while. Before your precious rebellion took my daughters from me, I learned a few tricks from Anakin, one of which includes the use of spice which allows you to access memories of your female ancestors. Only skilled Jedi, especially females, can access both. You can imagine how surprised I am when I found that I could access both and I found who I am."

"If you've known all this time, then why are you preventing us from seeing our descendant?"

"Because I am tired of you using me to harm your magic. You fooled me once so one lecher could fall in love with your useless daughter here, and another so she could open her legs and fuck her uncle then Henry Tudor." She turned to grandmother, Elizabeth of York. "I am not going to let you use me again."

"That's not how this works. You must let us see the boy. If you hand him over the rebel alliance, we can protect him and you from Sidious. Sidious wants to use you to find Katherine and kill the remaining Jedi. Think Mary! Think! They will never allow you to keep your daughters. He and Anakin killed all the Jedi and Arthur dedicates himself to hunting what's remained of them. You will never know peace as long as he lives."

"Better dead than being river scum like you." Was Mary's answer. The three women felt disappointed, their spirits vanished. It was going to take more convincing to turn their ancestor and descendant around. There was only one person to do that but she wasn't thrilled to see them.

Like her daughter, Catherine blamed them for the pain they had caused her. "I don't care what you propose. Get out of my house."

"You can help Mary and return Vader to his old self before this is over. He is the chosen one." Elizabeth of York, her former mother in law said, wishing she didn't have to say it but it was the true. Anakin Skywalker despite being Plagueis' creation was the true chosen one. It had been prophesized since ancient times in every one of their cultures, including Christianity and only him could defeat Darth Sidious and take down the Empire.

"That boy corrupted my daughter and your dear ancestress. I am not going to move one finger to save him. He and the Emperor can die for all I care."

"But you do care. When you married my son and promised to marry my other son, you said that you would do everything in your power for our faith to prevail. Now you are needed again. Anakin is the savior. He needs to be reminded of that."

"Get out of my house. I will not repeat it again. Anakin Skywalker will never get one ounce of sympathy from me and as far as I am concerned you and your witchcraft killed my Mary and my unborn children."

The ghosts left, feeling more defeated than before. Obi Wan tried to reason with his companion but she was as stubborn as ever. "They can help her."

"You said it yourself, he is more machine than man and my Mary is gone too. You should have killed him when you had the chance." She said, feeling heartbroken, but there was no denying it. The actions of her daughter where not the actions of the sweet, darling girl she'd known. They reminded her more of her supposed father.

Obi Wan tightened his hold around her, pulling her closer. The two were under the sheets, in bed, the window of her bedroom open so they could see the stars hovering in the sky.

"But if not them, then who? Luke and Jane are not ready yet."

"They will be. I have faith in you. We will make them ready." Catherine said, turning her head to kiss him.

* * *

Jane looked above the horizon. She imagined one day she would travel to all the planets and go beyond them, to other galaxies. Luke dreamed bigger dreams. He said he would become a great warrior and defeat the forces of evil, and maybe be remembered as the greatest person that ever lived.

_"_ _You dream too big Luke."_ But Luke's response was always _. "What more is there on this rock?"_

Luke was right. But it wasn't easy for her to be lost in day-dreaming as him. She had to be realistic. The two were not likely to get out of here and even if they did, they would always be tied to their families. She wished they could remember their mother. It was said that people who took spice and were force-sensitive could. She asked their uncle if they were but he flat out said no before she could finish the sentence.  
Sometimes she thought that uncle Owen and aunt Beru knew more than they let on but unlike her twin, she never pressed them on. Whatever their reasons, they must be good reasons. But just imagine, if they could have access to that drug or remember their mother and even their father. They could finally know who they were, what their first names were, what they looked like. Did they take after her or him? Or was it both?

She sighed and lay down on her bed, taking on her doll. Aunt Beru said she was too big to play with dolls but this doll was special. It was the only luxury she had as a kid and the only fancy thing they could afford. Droughts were common and the life of a moisture farmer was hard. Sometimes their other crops failed and they had to limit their expenses. But this doll was for a special occasion after she and Luke got a perfect report card, going past elementary to middle high with honors.

Her strawberry blond hair, her sky blue eyes reminded her of someone. She couldn't think of who but they seemed oddly familiar. For some reason, her uncle didn't like it and urged her to pick another, one that looked like Beru or one that looked like her and Luke's professor Cat. But she didn't like either of them. She liked this one. She felt a connection to it. Her uncle reluctantly agreed. Luke got spare parts as always and small robots to help him on his projects. Since she never paid any attention to Beru's domestic skills, she had a hard time sewing dresses for her doll. So Beru came one day and helped her. The two grew close and with time, Jane came to see her as more than just her guardian.

Today she had finished a beautiful platinum and green dress for her with a terrestrial hood. It was called a French hood from the times before the Empire. She never told her aunt and uncle, but she had secretly named her doll 'Pearl' and had a mock pearl choker with a cross hanging from the center.

"How lucky you are." She told Pearl. "As a Princess you must have all the men licking your fingers and eager to please you. If only I could have known those times. Perhaps in another life I was a Princess or I will be reborn as a wampa rat when I die. Now that will be ironic, me and Luke shooting wampa rats only to be reincarnated as ones."

She hugged her doll and closed her eyes. Sometimes she would dream of the future, of soldiers, knights, protectors, heroes and villains fighting each other and then uniting against a common enemy. Other times she would dream of the past and see a woman who looked awfully like her professor. Beautiful raven hair, blue eyes rushing into the arms of a handsome Jedi Knight. Every time she saw them together, they were happy but then an evil lord came and pushed them apart.

She confided in Luke about it and he asked her if she thought that could be their teacher and old man Ben Kenobi?

"Ben Kenobi?" She laughed. "Oh please, the man is a stiff and ancient, I doubt he was every that young or in love."

It was true. Ben was ancient but that didn't mean he didn't know love. His sister was too quick to judge. One of these days he was going to ask Ben all about it –if he got away from his uncle's watchful eye.

* * *

**The Past …**

_Catherine tried to push her daughter away from that boy. She pushed Cersei to a corner. "Unhand me, this is unlike you Your Majesty."_

_"Listen!" Catherine hissed. "You want that bitch out of your hair and I need my daughter to get married or else both of us are screwed."_

_"Such unwarranted language from a Princess. Conduct like that is unseemly."_

_"I am my father's daughter as you are yours." Catherine shot back and Cersei said no more. "If Anne Boleyn is declared Queen then we are both finished. The Tyrells' matriarch will never stand second to you. Mark my words, her granddaughter will do her best to cast you down and take all you love."_

_Cersei's eyes flashed with anger. "Who told you that?"_

_"It's a prophecy as old as time. My mother's astrologer told my sister the same thing. Nothing but superstition and stupidity but my sister knew better, that is why she asked my father to poison her husband." Just as yours –her words indicated._

_Smart woman. Cersei was never one to underestimate royalty, especially a royal woman at that. "What do you suggest I do? The marriage between Tommen and Margaery has been consummated."_

_"Un-consummate it. Just as my husband is doing with me, as my mother did with the Borgia pope. Look for that zealot and cast your enemies down from one push."_

_"You know how she thinks. Is that what you would do?"_

_"No, it's what my enemies would do." Catherine said. She admired the queen of thorns, Lady Olena's granddaughter. Young Margaery Tyrell reminded her of herself. What she was doing were the same tricks she did when she was her age. In another life, the two would have been friends. But this was life and death, their positions were at stake, and her daughter's most of all. She was going to do everything to protect that._

_"If I agree to marry my son to your daughter, you must promise me something in return. My son will not be second to any woman, even yours Catherine."_

_"Of course, just as long as your son respects the boundaries of this kingdom and I am named Regent in my daughter's name."_

_Cersei laughed. This woman was truly ambitious. "Regent! Your husband will never allow it. You can imprison him and he will still choke on his blood before he lets you do that. And who are you going to rule with, your Jedi lover boy? Another Isabella and Mortimer? People will despise you and your daughter will despise as you well."_

_"Mary can feel about me as she pleases but the people have always favored me. If I could I would have raised them against Henry and have my daughter on the throne and that lying Boleyn's head on a spike on top of the Tower of London."_

_"Then why don't you?"_

_"I do not want any more bloodshed. Laugh if you want, but this country will not go to hell because of me. I must do this right. When my daughter is on the throne and you have your spiritual pet annul the marriage between Tommen and Margaery, then the two can marry and you and I will rule in their names."_

_Cersei liked the sound of that. "What about my daughter Myrcella? That little monster sent her to that nest of vipers. They've hated us for years. They are probably scheming to kill her right now."_

_"If Henry's ancestresses hadn't cursed my sons with him, you would have married her to him to one of them and we wouldn't be having this discussion. One of the countless what-ifs. But if you wish to know a preferable alternative, there is my nephew."_

_"Charles? It is too early."_

_"It is never too early. Isabella was a good woman but Charles only has one son and he needs more than one if he wants to secure his throne. He was popular while he was married to her. Your daughter is young, beautiful and she knows more about the country than he did when he became King. Imagine how the people will react when they see someone so good, beautiful and converted to the true faith as their new queen?"_

_Cersei liked the sound of that. "One more thing." She said to Catherine before she left. "Are the whispers true about you and Obi Wan?"_

_"Are they true about you and Ser Jaime?"_

_Cersei smiled. "Fair enough. But I need to know since we are going to be business partners. Is she the King's daughter. A simple yes or no will suffice."_

_After a long silence Catherine said. "She is my daughter, that is all that matters and she has more royal blood than any son Henry can ever hope to have from that commoner."_

~o~

**Present Day**

Catherine woke up with a jolt. She should have gone with Cersei's plan and gotten rid of that chit Skywalker. But Obi Wan loved him so much. 'He is like a son to me' he told her.

She felt Obi Wan stir and she went back to bed putting his arm around her. He was getting old, there were white lines in his hair, his beard was nearly white and she … well she continued just as young.

The cloners at Kamino said she and Arthur were going to age slowly. Arthur believed it was a blessing, she took it as a curse.

Nobody should live this long –she said slowly as she closed her eyes. Living like this, she would survive Obi Wan by many years and possibly even her granddaughters.


	4. Dark Twisted Fantasy

" _Candy creep show_

_My high has hit a new low_

_Marinate in misery like a girl of only seventeen_

_Men made madness and the romance of sadness_

_Beautiful dance that happened by chance_

_Dig up the bones but leave the soul alone_

_Let her find a way back home_

_Broken dreams and silent screams_

_Empty churches with soulless curses_

_We found, we found a way to escape the day."_

_~Bones by MS MR_

 

Mary nodded to everything Arthur said. She didn't really care about what he did behind the Emperor's back. As far as she knew, the Emperor was a decrepit old man who would be toppled sooner or later. If Anakin has the balls to do it. She adjusted her son's collar. He was turning out to be the perfect gentleman and warrior. Mary was so proud of him.

At times, he reminded her of his father when they first met and at others of her father. Obi Wan. It was impossible to put him out of her mind when he smiled and mocked his fellow officers, pointing out the flaws in their plans.

"It is really simple, you just have to follow my lead and spring up the trap. Otherwise, you might as well end up bantha poo-doo like the sixty sixth division in the Kreysian wars."

Arthur chuckled and told them they could learn a thing or two from his son. Mary nodded again, happy to see the two men getting along so well. If only the same could be said for her and Arthur. They had been happy. Part of what contributed to that happiness was their desire to see her father -her real father- suffer for what he had done to her and her mother. But that desire for vengeance was slowly evaporating and being replaced by something more. Something Mary didn't wish to recognize because the last time she gave her heart to that person, he betrayed her.

 _I am probably just being silly._ She thought, using the word her son used every time he fooled around with Sansa Stark and Jon Targaryen's daughter. He and Lyanna were very close, something Lya's mother didn't appreciate because she thought her son was too lowly for her.

 _She doesn't know me well enough._ Mary would teach her that unlike her, the blood she had passed through her son would prove better. She was after all descendant of kings and queens who won their crown in the battlefield and the courts. They didn't court the nobles, they didn't ask 'is this ok? Is this alright?' No! They took it, regardless of what everybody thought.

Sansa had lived a sheltered life in Winterfell. It was only Jon's power which made her Lady of Winterfell and Regent of many regions in Earth and other sectors her husband didn't control (yet). And it was only through him that she and her brats were safe. If he fell, she would fall. And she knew it, that is why she was so spiteful to Mary. Because Mary had a son who was handsome, strong and making a name for himself as the most fearsome warrior. Hers only cared about fooling around and showing off his parents' wealth.

 _Her old Gods should unsex little Lya and make her the son her mother always desired._ God only knew that the girl was more equipped to rule and take over her parents' positions after they died than her useless brother.

"Mother, did you hear about the scholarship I got for the new Academy in Felucia?" Her son told her while they were having dinner.

She looked at Arthur who shrugged. "I am sure someone else can go instead. You have no need of a scholarship."

"But mom" he pouted "everyone is going to go. My friends are going."

"Just because your friends are going doesn't mean you must go. What if they jumped from a building? Would you still do it?"

"They did jump from a building. Staka Lomar and that uptight bitch Rak Pam did and you still said no."

"You shouldn't follow the others just because they are cool. Be yourself, in fact make a statement just by doing it. And if they make fun of you say 'I am an individual, I make my own decisions.'"

Owen smiled "Allow me to tell you how it works in the real world mom." He said and looked at his father. A knowing glance passed between them. "In the real world, either I can go to the cool kids' new academy which is packed with all the latest technology or I can get my arse kicked and be an outcast which will scar me for life."

Arthur covered his mouth. Mary gave him hard stare but he continued to laugh silently.

She should've known he had something to do with this. "Well son that is a compelling argument but my answer is still no."

"Mother!"

"However I will make a deal with you." She said and Owen listened.

"I will let you go in the next lunar cycle of Felucia which is in two months if you invite Lya and her family to dine with us."

"Deal! Thank you mom." He said hugging her and then his father, whispering in his ear "thank you" then went to his bedroom to call his girlfriend.

"You let him off quite easily."

"I am his mother. You should've told me you two had discussed this."

"Mary, the boy is mature for his age and I think it is a great idea to go there. Besides Lyanna and Eddard are going."

"The trouble twins."

"Don't be like that. They are good kids." Arthur said.

Mary crossed her arms and leaned back against her chair.

"If you keep antagonizing Lady Targaryen like that, you are only going to upset her husband as well." He said then he added "And her mother." This made her turn. "You don't want to know Lady Stoneheart's wrath."

"She is a nobody like her daughter. My mother had to go to war with that harlot, and my grandmother won her crown through blood and steel, so did my grandfathers. What does she have? Everything was handed to her from birth."

"So have you." He pointed out and before his wife could protest he added "And so was I. It is not our fault. Our parents fought very hard so we could enjoy everything that they didn't."

"That is different. That is completely different. I want our son to enjoy life, but I also want him to be responsible. Look at Sansa, Miss Perfect, she thinks she is so high and mighty … It angers me every time I see her looking at our that way."

It angered him as well, but what could he do? He and Mary weren't legally married and even if they were, they acted nothing like a couple should. The two espoused different beliefs and the only thing keeping them together was beginning to wane in Mary.

His domestic partner no longer thought of vengeance but justice. She didn't want to punish so much as she wanted to see justice being done to those whom the Old Republic had wronged.

* * *

After the year came and went Owen finally got to go to the Imperial Academy where he reunited with most of his friends, including his childhood crush Lyanna Targaryen. When they were back for the holidays, their mothers couldn't control their animosity for each other (which intensified when Sansa made a remark about Mary's base-born statues). It was something that Jon didn't appreciate. He was never a friend of Mary's but he felt some sympathy for the woman. Like him, she had loved, she had dreamed, and she had fought. And at times she reminded him of his younger cousin, the girl he grew to love as his little sister, Arya "No One" Stark. He often wondered what life would be like if Ygritte hadn't died, if Arya hadn't joined the rebellion, if he had never married Sansa. Would he be happier then?  
 _"You can't be happy Jon Snow, you are a Targaryen born and you must live by their motto."_ Blood and Fire. He knew that motto all too well. His son had adopted it and always said it when he fought on the Junior Trials. It wasn't a motto he was proud of but it was useful, it put fear in the hearts of dissenters and rebels.

**Every time a Targaryen is born, the Gods flip a coin.** His children were luckily proof that not all was lost. Lyanna was a warrior like her father and those before her, including her Stark ancestors, and Eddard was a poet born whom girls loved, and boys competed with one another to be his friend.

 _I am truly lucky_. But there were times when he would dream of his old life in Winterfell, on the Wall, in the hot springs with Ygritte. The dream would always end with him being stabbed repeatedly by men of the Night's Watch. Men he trusted and helped defend. The last to plunge the treacherous knife would be Olly. A boy he loved like a brother and raised like a son. He saw in him what no others did: a potential to be greater than what he believed himself to be -a nobody. After he was gone, he wanted him to be the next Lord Commander. _I believed in him._ And just like that, his trust was rewarded with treachery.

 _In retrospect I should have known. But Jon Snow didn't know anything._ He was as naïve. Jon Snow had been a fool. Truly, Jon Snow deserved to die. If he had that boy in front of him, he would beat him to death and ask him _"How could you be so stupid?"_ But that boy was no more. He was never coming back. Olly and his brethren had done the impossible and killed not only the boy, but the boy's spirit. When he opened his eyes, he came back as someone else. At first they mocked him and said he wouldn't do a thing since his honor was too great for him to sully it. Even Arya believed that he would never be capable of vengeance. They were all in for a shock.

The first to go were the lesser men of the Night's Watch, then Allister who languished in a cell crying like the little shit he was for years, and finally Olly. He didn't take vengeance against him right away. He let the turncoat escape, grabbing a passage to the Outer Rim where he lived for ten years until Jon showed up on his doorstep.

" _Lord Commander!"_

" _No, Grand Moff Targaryen and Regent of various sectors."_

Their little chat was interrupted by soft mewling. _"New baby?" He asked casually walking in. The mechanical door closed behind him. The locks had been rigged so Olly would not escape, along with his family._

" _This place is so humble. I would expect the farmer's brat would have something better." Jon continued looking around._

" _Jon I -I."_

" _There is no need to apologize Olly, I don't come here for vengeance."_

" _You don't?" He took a step backwards, putting himself in between his former Lord Commander and his newborn's room where his wife was hiding._

" _I know what it is like Olly, to escape from a family that wants you dead. To have the whole world hunt you down because of what you did -or rather what your brothers did. But don't worry Jon Snow would have never sought vengeance against a boy who was only acting out of raw emotion."_

_Olly sank to his knees and cried tears of joy. "Thank you." He said over and over. "I promise, I … I will serve you in any way I can."_

" _You already have Olly. You already have." Jon said then leaned forward and whispered in his ear._ _Olly's eyes widened. Jon pushed him against a wall and in the same fashion he had done, plunged a knife into his gut, except that this was ridden with poison that would paralyze him for hours until death finally came to him. Jon didn't want him to die, he wanted him to see everything he was about to do._

Sansa knew what he had done. Whatever it took to protect their family, and preserve their name. That was all that mattered in the end.

After the Targaryens went back to their apartment, Owen slept and he had dreams again. These dreams were not in the fashion of his sweetheart's father's nightmares. These were much more vivid. Almost like puns on his parents and grandparents' lives. He experienced everything, from the pain, the hopelessness, the fear, and the betrayal.

When he woke up he looked at himself in the mirror. His parents had been having a lot of problems lately. They were always fighting, and his mother especially would yell every time things didn't go her way. When he asked her about the rumors regarding her and Lord Vader (prior to him becoming a lord of the Sith) she would deflect her answers to something else.

One thing that he managed to get from her was the same name that was on his father's mind: Catherine. Catherine of Aragon. His grandmother.

If he captured her and brought his grandfather to justice, his father's obsession for her would evaporate and his parents would rekindle their love. Furthermore, her mother would have a chance to prove to everyone how she was loyal to the Empire, and the Emperor would reward him by making an Inquisitor or better yet a Moff.

* * *

Jane rubbed Luke's back. "You always dream too big." She told him as they lay in his bed. Despite their uncles' best effort to get them to have a different room, the two always found each other. They couldn't explain it, they just did. They were more than brother and sister, they were twins and therefore closer than any family member.

Sometimes Jane felt sorry for siblings who were so unfortunate to just be siblings and not twins. Plus they were special, they could always guess what the other was thinking.

"So what was it this time?" She asked him.

"I don't know. I mean, it is an impossible thing."

"Why is it impossible? Was it me losing to you at a sparring conquest again?"

"No! And that is called a sparring match and you never beat me because Uncle Owen doesn't let you play."

"I still could, you know my reflexes are better than yours."

"Bantha Poo-doo!" Luke swore. Jane put her hand on his mouth. After a while she took it away.

"What is wrong with you?"

"Our uncles are sleeping, if they knew I was with you, they would put us in an asylum. Do you want that?" Luke rolled his eyes. "Now, what is your dream all about?"

His sister was going to be the death of him one day. He began his tale. Jane didn't see anything out of the ordinary at first until he got to the weird part he had been dreading to tell her.

"There was this woman screaming and she called your name and one odd name but I wasn't in it."

"So? Maybe it is because of those holo-dramas that Aunt Beru watches."

"No, it wasn't that. It was something else. I could feel her pain but she didn't become one like the Force, she just lied there. Crying and screaming your name and …"

"Some other name. I get it Luke. You think you dreamed about our mother. They are just dreams Luke, they are not going to tell us anything more than what uncle Owen is willing to. You should just forget about them."

"I am trying but I keep seeing her face calling to you, and then I hear another woman's voice calling my name. Do you think we could have different mothers? That this is a sign from the gods or the Force-"

"Ugh Luke not this again. There is no such thing as the Force. You heard our uncle, they are all hokey religions that went down for a reason."

"Maybe you are right but it would be good to know once and for all who our parents were."

"We know who they were. Our father was a space freighter who was stupid and forgot to check his engine and his ship exploded and our mother was some broad he got knocked up."

"That is what uncle Owen says but I don't think he is telling us the truth. I think there is more to that story." Jane didn't say anything. "Don't you want to know about them Janey?"

"No." She said turning her back against him, pulling the sheets above her head.

Luke sighed. His sister was complicated. And too stubborn. He could sense her confusion. She wanted to know as much as he did about their parents, but something was pulling her back. "Well I do, and someday when I go to the Academy, I will find the truth about them and us." He said, wrapping his arms around her waist. The fabric of her dress was rough. The kind of clothing she wore was to protect herself from the heat and the sand from the constant storms. Luke wore the same kind of fabric when he went out to help his uncle pick new droids or fix the vaporators. Deep down, they wanted to go out there and explore like the heroes of Old, whose names were still being whispered (even among thieves).

 _Someday …_ Luke thought … _I will be the most famous of them all …_ People would whisper about him and his sister, how they saved millions and accomplished so much in their young age.

_Someday …_


	5. Linked by Tragedy

_I watch the sky for something nice_  
but no one seems to bother me  
there is frightful sighs and sounds  
but nothing seems to bother me  
it is not picturesque  
though I hear sounds of victory  
I lost the part of me

_Oh God can't you see?  
There's nothing left of me_

_Oh God answer me_  
Am I just a casualty?"  
~Casualty by Kopecky Family Band

**~o~**

** **

_Mary asked her father if she could take her sister hunting with her. "As long as my guards are with you."_

_Bess was overjoyed. This was the first time someone took her out hunting, and it was also the first time that she had been out in the wilderness. Anakin would talk about the worlds he'd visited and his home planet Tatooine. "What is it like?" She asked him. He told her that there were two suns. It was a binary system and only one moon._

_"_ _Really? Just one? That seems illogical." But Bess was only a child and there was more to the universe than just her little planet and what Protestant scholars wrote in books. "The universe is vast, there is so much more outside of our galaxy. Some people say that in billions and billions of years our galaxy will collide with the Nebula and those that live far away will see a dance of stars before their eyes. We will survive but we won't be there to watch the dance."_

_"_ _Why not?"_

_"_ _Because humanity would have either evolved or gone somewhere else. It is not our destiny to be in one place. We are nomads. Humans are not meant to be fixed in one place."_

_Bess, just a child and arrogant like the rest in her family chuckled, thinking his logic too flawed for her precocious ears. "That is not true. Humankind goes further by ruling and imposing order. If we stayed nomads we would have never accomplished anything."_

Now it seemed stupid, but at the time it made so much sense. Elizabeth wanted to prove herself to her peers, especially her family. Mary was always going on about how nobody loved her and it drove Elizabeth mad. She wanted her sister to come out of that victim status.

_Perhaps my mom did drive her to that_. Or perhaps she didn't but it gave Mary comfort either way. _We always find comfort in someone else's misery._

_ _

She sighed and put the flowers on the vase that her sister had designated for her new living room. Like their father, she wanted the best and when that wasn't enough she bought another floor or another building. Her so called husband complied. Arthur saw her mother in her every time he kissed her. When she saw her husband looking at an old portrait he had gotten of her mother at the time of their marriage, she would open her mouth and ask for something and like a lost puppy, Arthur would get it for her.

Or so she thought. The real reason he gave her everything her heart desires was because he wanted her to be silent. The perfect little wife who didn't nag him and said anything to upset him.

Mary was living a lie and she was stupid not to see it. Or maybe she did see it but refused to acknowledge it.

Her sister was never known for her intelligence.

Mary got back. She barely looked at Elizabeth. When she looked at her maid, she didn't see her sister but merely a shade of what she once was. Today though was different.

Her son was gone and wouldn't come back for the holidays, after which Arthur would be gone and Lya would be staying with her and Owen.

"Bess, can you come into my bedchamber?"

"What is it, sister?" She asked. Mary gestured her to sit next to her on the bed. Bess did that.

"Do you miss your mother?"

"Yes but at least she is safe and that is all that matters."

"Always bold for me. Arthur was right, I was an idiot for keeping you. Bess, you and I have never been on good terms since it happened but I want you to know that I did love you once."

"So did I Mary. And you are wrong, you are not an idiot but you try so hard at pretending to be one so Arthur can love you. Let's run away Mary. There are many people in the Rebellion working against the Emperor, we can take a shuttle to the outer rim and hide their with our mothers." She grabbed her hand. "Please Mary, I am not one for begging but I am begging you now. Not only as your sister but as your friend and someone who still loves you. Let's leave this place."

Mary pushed her hand away. She looked at her sister with sad eyes. "I can't Elizabeth. My future is here. I have what I always wanted."

"This isn't what you always wanted. You wanted a family. I am your family. Your mother and father are your family and you can take Owen with you. You don't owe Arthur anything."

For a long time Mary didn't speak. The two sisters just stared at each other, waiting for the other. Bess wished that she had taken the late Anne Stanhope's suggestion and knock Mary down and take her and her son when she had the chance but she was blinded by sisterly love.

"I am sorry Elizabeth" Mary finally spoke, a sad tone in her voice. "But it is too late for me. This is who I am right now and I can't face my mother. I can't forgive her for what she's done."

"What has she done that is so terrible for you not to see her? She loves you, she always has. Maybe she shouldn't have lied, but what did you expect her to do? You were her only child, her jewel. It is no more than what my mother did for me."

"You have no idea Bess. People regarded you as a bastard but everyone knew you were the true daughter of Henry VIII and Anne, while I was mocked and still am by so many people who see me as nothing but a common whore. I sullied my name so I could have what was owed to me. Respect."

"I respected you." Bess said quietly. "Perhaps I am too naïve in your book, but you always had people who loved you. You still do. The world doesn't have to be bleak Mary unless you want it to be. You are you, no one is ever going to change that. We aren't defined by our parents or what we have, we are defined by who we are. You forgot that."

"I didn't forget it Bess. I remembered it every day that I was forced to watch my daughter being raised alongside her son. And every day I tried to see them, Owen Lars would threaten me and accuse me of causing all of this. My father never lifted a finger for me. He just said 'it is for the good of the galaxy'. The good of the galaxy!" She laughed. "What about me? No one asked me what I wanted. No one hugged me or cried for me. My mother preferred him over me."

"Well you are no better than her by staying with Arthur, a man who will soon kill you the minute he has your mother back." Bess pointed out and reached for her hand again. "Time to stop feeling pity for yourself and come home. We all love you and want to see you back."

But Mary shook her head. "No." She said. "I am sorry."

She had made her choice and nothing was going to change that. Bess hung her head. It hurt hearing her sister speak like this and she had no choice but to leave her.

When she returned to Tatooine, she found her mother in her desert home next to the other houses in the over-crowded Celtic neighborhood. "What did she say? I take it, it didn't work." Bess nodded, telling her mother everything her sister said.

"We both knew it was a lost cause. You should have stayed here and gotten a job helping me pass messages to the rebel network." Bess said nothing. Her mother was partly right. "She isn't your sister you know. For all your sweet words to her, you don't owe her anything. She made her own bed, even Catherine knows this."

"She suffered enough mom."

"We all have. I thought your father was going to burn me."

Anne's tone softened. "I know you feel bad for her sweetheart, but she is not your responsibility any more than she is her mother's. She is a grown woman, she has to face the heat for what she's done." _And believe me_ -Anne thought _\- she will._

Bess helped her mother encrypt some of the Rebellion's messages using Da Vinci's old cypher. The Empire hadn't mastered it and Arthur was to dull to care, preferring his aides to do all the work like his late brother.

Bess thought long and hard about what her mother said after she finished. If Mary was responsible for her actions, then that would mean everything everyone did against her was justified? That didn't sound right. Mary was many things but evil she was not.

There had to be a way to save her. And Anakin. The boy had been kind to her when everyone else regarded her with suspicion. Besides Mary, he had been her only friend after her mother's death. And thanks to him, she had learned so much about the galaxy and the planet she lived in.

_I will save them both._

* * *

Jane told her uncle she was going out with some friends but her uncle regretted at the last minute and told her to get back. "It is not fair. You get all the fun while I have to go back." Jane put on her jacket. "It's no fair."

"Tough luck sis. Don't worry." Luke said kissing her on the cheek "I will grab some cake for you before Biggs drops me off."

He waved at uncle Owen. Jane got on the speeder. The ride back home was boring. Another one of Uncle Owen's long boring sermons. Aunt Beru's was worse. It wasn't boring, but it was still terrible. She went on about how girls shouldn't be without an escort and how even with an escort, it was dangerous because boys could take advantage of them.

Beru lost her in about the second hour when she talked about sex. It was like her aunt thought Jane was an idiot. She was nineteen years old! Please! She knew about sex since she was five. This was Tatooine after all.

"Do you understand?" Jane nodded, thankful that her aunt was finished. "Good, I have something good for us to do." She turned on the holo drama channel and took out several fabrics. "You are going to be twenty next year. I made my first big dress when I was twenty." She put a second table in front of Jane. "Now you get to start with yours. Who knows? Luke can accompany you for when you go on a gala for one of your friend's weddings. Jacy is getting married next year isn't she?"

_Oh Goddess, Gods, God, whatever is out there. Please not this!_

"I think so but she said we could go casual." Jane said, hoping this would deter her aunt from more wedding talk but it only made it worse.

"Someday when you get married, you can make Luke your husband's best man and me and your uncle will be there to see our little girl." She gave a long dreamy sigh, remembering when she married Owen. It was the happiest day of her life. So it was when Obi Wan Kenobi came (twice) and gave them Luke and Jane to look after.

Owen was weary of it at first but when he looked into their faces, he realized that there was little of Vader in them. Nevertheless, they were too much like the man their father had been before becoming a dark lord of the Sith. Same face, same hair color, wavy too. And their skin, pure white as well. But their eyes. They each had their mother's eyes. And she didn't mean it by their eye color -because that too they'd gotten it from their father- but in the way they looked at the world. Luke was kind and had a sense of justice to him that reminded her of Padme. And Jane was fierce, always speaking her mind.

It seemed ironic that their offspring were best friends, considering their mothers were enemies. Beru recalled how Mary had railed against Owen and her father when they told her they couldn't let her see her child. Beru tried to talk some sense into the woman but she cursed her and Owen, and promised she would never forget this offense.

Whereas Padme was sweet and filled with a sense of justice, Mary was pure rage. Beru wished that Jane and Luke never met their father, or the Lady Mary who had become twisted and evil. They deserved a better life.

"And when you have children, you can invite us to their baptism."

"Aunt Beru with all due respect, this is great and all but I am not the girly type. I mean, I am not the cool girl type."

"I was never the cool girl type."

"You know what I mean. I don't like dresses. I want to see the galaxy, explore different worlds. Be with Luke the rest of my life."

"Sweetheart, you and Luke are brother and sister."

"Not like that! I mean together like one half of one another like in the twin suns legends where the god and the goddess rode off into the skies and restored the light to the kingdom of heaven and brought knowledge to all the species. I want to be like that. I want to do something with our lives. Live life. We are never going to get that if we continue helping uncle Owen."

"I know it seems like things are never going to change but trust me, they will. Just give your uncle time. When this harvest is over, I will talk to him so he can let the two of you go to the Academy." Beru promised smiling widely at her.

It brought hope to Jane but it wasn't enough. Either her aunt was the best person in this lousy planet or the galaxy's biggest enabler.

After Luke got back, she turned around and greeted them on their shared bed. She told him everything their aunt said.

"So? We will leave this rock very soon. You will see. Biggs is joining the Academy and if he makes it big, he will recommend you and me. We can be cadets before our second year."

"And then what? Be the galaxy's most fearsome assassins?" Jane asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That is just rebel propaganda. The Academy will let us explore many worlds and we will meet all the big shots including Lady Targaryen's daughter."

Jane laughed and slapped his shoulder playfully. "You hound dog. You can barely score one good girl, what makes you think you can play the playboy with someone like her?"

"You never know. I heard from Galaxy People magazine, she likes hot dates."

"Yeah, as in people with money and muscles. Sorry to say Luke, you are not up there with those guys."

"Oh shut up. Like you can score with her brother or the other Imperials."

"You kidding? I can get whatever boy I want."

"If that is true then why did Bob Herto dump you at the graduation party?"

"Shut up. Bob Herto didn't know what he was losing. I can get an Imperial like that." She snapped her fingers.

Luke laughed. He doubted that. Those Imperials were snobs and they liked girls who dressed all girly and agreed with them on every subject. His sister wasn't like that.

* * *

"Lars, what can I help you with?" Catherine asked her granddaughter and Luke's guardian. It was a good thing that Obi Wan wasn't here, or there would be a big confrontation.

"I have become aware that you have been spending time with Jane. I want you to stop. It is not good for her. Beru and I want her and Luke to remain here."

"I can't say that I haven't suggested one or two things. It is only natural that they want to dream big. They are Anakin Skywalker's children after all."

"I know damn well whose children they are and I swore when I took them that I would never let them become like him, or in the case of Jane like your daughter."

"How dare you? My Mary is not what you think."

"She has destroyed many lives and lives with a man who is not her husband and would sooner see her dead the minute he has you. If he finds out about your granddaughter, and more importantly, Anakin's children, he and the Emperor will use them against us and the galaxy will be doomed."

"I didn't take you for a seer." Catherine said. "You are a smart man Owen but my granddaughter is my blood and she will never be like your stepbrother. You and Beru have seen to that, and I thank you for it. But their time is nearing, they must embrace their destiny and save the galaxy, otherwise we will all be doomed."

"I don't care what happens to their father or you, but I have grown to love those two like they were my own and I am not going to see you and that hermit destroy their lives the way you two destroyed Jane's parents." He said and with that he left.


	6. You are a Fool for loving the wrong person

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter deals with a lot of angst. I took inspiration from some of my favorite myths and one of my favorite series on Neftlix which Neftlix lovers will know right away which I am talking about when they read Palpy's address ;)

****_"What wicked game to do_  
to make me dream of you  
What wicked thing to say  
never felt that way  
What wicked thing to do  
to make me dream of you!

**_But I don't want to fall in love_ **   
**_And I ... don't want to fall in love_ **   
**_with you."_ **   
**_~Wicked Game by James Vincent McMorrow_ **

**_"The Human heart in conflict with itself is the only thing worth writing about." ~George R. R. Martin_ **

Emperor Palpatine could sense Vader still had feelings for Mary Tudor. When he saw her, he wasn't seeing her but the life they could have had if he hadn't chosen Padme.

Imbecile. The girl was a whore. Anyone could see it. People shouted in the streets "crucify her" "burn her". And why wouldn't they? -When she had killed so many people with her 'innocent' fling.- Anakin was the only one who didn't see it. He had warned the boy against getting close to her, but as usual the Republic's hero didn't listen to him.

Palpatine smirked. "Hero without fear" they called him, but the truth was that Anakin was filled with fear. Within him was an ice dragon which threatened to consume him every time he gave into his emotions, and Plagueis helped him feed on him when he gave him those visions.

What surprised him though, was that after all these years, the man still had feelings for her.

The heart is a mysterious thing … and a useless one -Sidious finished after a long pause. His eyes flashed yellow as he stared at the utter blackness of space, seated comfortably in his Imperial chair.

From here he could sense other planets, other life-forces, beaming with the aid of the Force. These Force-users were still out there, but they would never thrive. Contrary to what people thought. Palpatine could care less about the Order of the Sith. When he was recruited by Plagueis, he didn't believe it in it much. Just a bunch of nonsense that many people had died for. In his view, it was not that different from the backwards Earth; but once he got to see his master do many incredible things, he was transformed.  
He followed him everywhere, questioned everything –just as he told him. And then …. one day when his master told him what he had uncovered, Sidious killed him.  
He mourned Plagueis, shed tears at his funeral and gave part of his eulogy written by the High Priest of Andros. He was not heartless. The man had given him an opportunity to rise through the ranks, paid for his education and gave him purpose. It was only natural that Palpatine followed the next step in his evolution. It was the natural order of things.

Anakin believed that he could go against that order. Much like his real father, but he didn't factor in Sidious. Sidious was renown for his ability to swing planets, convince politicians, but most of instill fear on everyone, including his allies.

Fear, after all, was the greatest weapon. Whereas his master and Anakin foolishly relied on rhetoric of hope and dreams, he relied on fear. "Our district is already great, there is no need to make it greater." And playing off the pragmatists, the opportunists, he had won every election.

And then came his declaration of war against the Rebellion and every sector that sympathized with their cause: _"It will be a war more total than the war we have waged against extremism. Soldiers will die, civilians will die. There will be pain. There will be suffering. We will be confronted with the most horrific aspects of our galaxy, but make no mistake, we will confront it, evil itself. We will triumph. It will not be a war we will loose. To mourn is not to fear, to grieve is not to admit defeat. May the Powers that Be continue to bless us."_ And then to win those that still subscribed to monotheism, playing on their ignorance, he ended it with _"And may God bless us all."_

Fear was a path to the dark side and the dark side was a path to something greater. Without a being's basic instincts he was reduced to nothing. Instincts, passion, was what drove beings to greatness. The Jedi were too blind to see that. They prohibited everything, not because they cared for their pupils, but because they were afraid of what they could have achieved if they discovered the greatest pleasures in life.

Indulgence. That was what the Sith code preached. Envy, anger, they were all powerful feelings and emotions that pushed someone to the edge of self-discovery. But as with everything, you had to have some boundaries. And that is where the rational side of Sidious emerged, taking over his baser self.

Beings were animals. Pure and simple. But they could be controlled. They needed, for it was in their nature to have a leader. You see, there were two kinds of people in the universe: leaders and followers. And Sidious happened to be a leader, but he wasn't born one. Like all good leaders, he listened, he observed and when the time was right, he took it all.

Anakin on the other hand, was a follower. He wanted power so bad, but once he had it, he didn't know what to do with it. So he needed guidance. He was a lamb, a powerful lamb, but a lamb nonetheless. And Mary was his weakness.

Sidious used the girl to keep Anakin in line, as well as Arthur Tudor. The latter didn't care a fig about her. She was just a means to an end. But as long as he had her, it gave him hope that he could obtain her mother.  
That man was quite admirable. If Sidious wasn't stuck with Vader, he would have him as his right hand man. Problem was though, that he was also ruled by his emotions.  
Rather than indulge in them, they were consumed by them. Anakin and Arthur were both passion's puppets.  
Love. Sidious scoffed. What good did it do? Did it make Anakin's life better? Or Mary Tudor's mother? Did it make Arthur any happier?  
The three of them were deluding themselves if they believed they could achieve the glory of their ancestors. The Tudor House was nothing now, so was England and the rest of the royal houses on Earth. The only remnants of them now served him. As for Vader … the man would never depose him. Never.

Sidious was here to stay, and if anyone dared to lift a finger against him, he would use strike back and he would do it by using the greatest weapon of all: fear.

* * *

"Luke don't forget to tell your uncle to get us a droid that can speak Boshi."

"I will aunt Beru." Luke bumped into his twin sister on the way out. "Watch it sis or you're going to cripple me for life."

"Don't exaggerate idiot, I barely touched you. Where are you going?" She asked as she followed Luke outside. Today was the day that they were going to go out to celebrate with their friends, their one year anniversary of their graduation.

It had been forever, but they managed to survive high school. And special skills. Special skills was the name given to the institution that prepared teens for technical careers. It was the refined way of saying 'sorry kids, you're screwed. You're parents are not royal so you better get used to be smugglers janitors, moister farmers or Jabba's goons.' Luke took it pretty hard. He wanted to go the Imperial Academy so bad like their friend Biggs, but their uncle once again said no.

Jane told Luke that not to lose hope. If the next coming season their uncle said no, then they would take his speeder and go to Mois Eisley Cantina and fly off on the next adventure. Luke, often said that she was a dreamer –and perhaps she was. But what else was there to do in this stinking hole?

"Uncle Owen wants to get new droids. R1 has been failing since last summer. About time he got one."

"If you go there, can you tell them to get me Earth's staff?"

"You know the Jawas don't give anything for free."

"I know that, that is why you are going to make a deal with them and get me one."

He frowned. "Me? Why should I get you one? You have money."

"Yeah but I am saving for the both of us for next year *remember*?" Luke sighed and nodded. Their uncle yelled at him to get on the speeder. Jane grabbed his hand and sweetly asked "So you will get me one? Hmm? For your dear sister?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "Fine, you win."

She swung her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "Just remember, you owe me sis." He said then got on the speeder next to his uncle.

Jane returned downstairs where Beru was making lunch. "What did you tell your brother?"

"Nothing. I just gave him a see you later greeting." Beru smiled. "My dear," she said "when it comes to lying to your aunt, you are not very good. You forget I am a woman too, I can sense these things. What did you tell him to get you?"

"An earth's staff. One of the ones from the magazines they used to sell outside the schools. Every royal had one of those. People over there said that they gave the wearer special powers."

Beru laughed. "Jane, don't tell me you believe those stories. There is nothing magical about those things, they are just relics."

"I know but it's just so cool, you know? Having something from an old dynasty, I wish I could visit Earth someday." She said, sighing dreamily. After she and Luke managed to get off this rock, they would visit every planet.

Beru smiled sweetly at the girl. Each day, she and Luke, reminded her more of their father. When she met Anakin, she was just a young orphan girl. She didn't know about the Force, the Jedi, and had little interest in politics, but one night comforting Padme after she told her about Anakin's confession, changed everything. Although Owen never wanted to do anything with the Force, Beru did her best to learn about it from the books she got at the bazar, and her conversations with the girl's grandmother.  
She found it hard to believe that Catherine and Jane could be related to Mary Tudor. Even more impossible to fathom was that Obi Wan had fathered that monstrous woman.  
Hopefully the two will never cross paths. Beru turned on the holo news every day, hoping to see something had happened to her. Killed in action, or kidnapped.

Jane deserved better than her. She and Luke were very close, the truth about their mothers would destroy them.

"What do you think happened to the remaining Tudors? I heard that some royals escaped from the Empire's watchful eye and joined the Rebellion. Tysha, one of Biggs' cousins, swears she heard a rumor that one of them lives here. Can you believe it?! An Earth royal, here in Tatooine? That would be better than hunting womp rats, or collecting Earth relics."

"That'd be something alright. But don't get your hopes off. You heard the Imperial news, they were all wiped out. All that is left of them are Lord and Lady Targaryen and Lady Tudor." Beru said, hesitant to say that woman's name.

Jane laughed. "She is not really a Tudor. I heard from Zach in Tor's Valley that she was conceived by some Jedi bloke and that is how she was able to claw her way into Arthur Tudor's bed."

"Jane that is foul gossip. You would do well not to speak ill of people."

"But it is true. Anyone who is someone knows that Mary is not Henry's daughter. Some are even saying she is the anti-Christ!"

"People believe all kinds of things. When I was your age the Republic used to say the Separatists were the enemy and the same thing was being said by the other side."

"But this has to be true. So many people are saying it and I have seen her on some of the holos."

"Oh?" Beru became tense. She wished she had not let the girl go with her friends late at night. Owen had warned her about it but as usual Beru didn't listen. She told Owen that she wanted her to have the experience she never had. Now it might all just backfire in her face. Thankfully, her niece's next words made her mentally sigh in relief.

"She still looks like she did ten years ago. She's barely aged and the way she always looks at people." Jane gave a sarcastic laugh, remembering how the "lady" snobbishly turned her head the other way when a reporter asked her about her son's supposed romance with lady Targaryen's son. "It is like she expects them to bow down at her. She is such a drama queen."

That she is. Beru also had the pleasure of meeting Lady Mary. Unlike Anakin's true wife, she was her complete opposite.

"That is politics for you." Beru told her.

They heard Owen's speeder and got outside to see the new droids. Jane was surprised to see he had brought a protocol droid and an R2 unit. Ok, not so surprised at the former but an R2? Those were so rare. How in the seven hells had uncle Owen managed to buy one, and at such low price? Breaking her train of thought, Luke pulled from his bag an Earth relic. A staff. Golden with useless gems encrusted on it and an orb.

"No way!" She voiced her thoughts aloud. "Is this really from Earth? How much did it cost?"

"It's no big deal, the Jawas are probably giving away everything. Uncle Owen said something about nobody buying this useless junk."

"This is amazing. This is just like the thinks we saw on the history books. Luke … thank you!"

"No problem sis but remember you owe me."

* * *

"Thank the maker!" C 3PO beamed once he got into the hut oil tub. R2 paced back and forth around the room. His new masters were trying to get him to stop.

The little droid would have, except everytime it looked at those faces, she remembered Anakin. Her faithful master. R2 had never been the sentimental kind, he was not programmed to be one. But over time he had formed an attachment with the young Jedi. He was the only one who treated him as a human being, even though R2's opinion of the species was never a kind one, and not as a machine.  
When C 3PO's memory was wiped out, R2 said nothing. Anakin was gone, and his new job was to look over his daughter, Princess Leia.  
If his master had not fallen to the dark side, that is what he would have wanted him to do.  
R2 watched over the girl. He got to see her grow and mature into a woman capable of looking after herself. Behind closed doors, when he pretended to be "asleep", he heard her surrogate father tell his councilors that she reminded him of her mother, her real mother.  
As always, humans were seeing only what they wanted to see. The truth was that Leia took more after her father. Her mother was a politician but she wasn't ambitious. Leia was, behind her idealism was a strong pragmatist who could take over the galaxy if she so desired.

These two however, were also his master's offspring. But they were so different from their older sibling. Leia was the first one to be born, followed by her twin brother Luke. This boy didn't know that the girl helping him chase R2, with that smile and those pleasant eyes, was not his twin but his half-sister.

R2 finally stopped and Luke knelt down to clean him. "You have a lot of dirt here buddy." He told him. R2 made no sound, his eye just kept on focusing on him and the girl behind him. Both so alike, yet so different from their older sibling.

They are what Master Anakin once was. The droid thought and immediately, he pulled from his data bank, all the memories he had stored from Anakin, the Senator and the Princess.

He loved them both. These two didn't know how much their father would give to have them with him. Or their mothers.

But Anakin stopped talking to me the day he went to see Chancellor Palpatine. He never saw me as a friend from that point onwards.

As Jane and Luke shared a happy moment together that reminded R2 of his old master Anakin once more, an idea sprung into his head and as he put it into action, the fate of the galaxy was about to change.

* * *

"What is it Obi Wan?" Catherine asked him. Obi Wan didn't turn to meet her eyes. He felt a dark presence. One he hadn't felt since ... No ... He lifted himself from the bed, then came back when he noticed he wasn't wearing anything.

"Is it him?" Catherine asked coming into their kitchen, fully clothed.

Obi Wan nodded.

"You should wait a few days before you approach Owen."

"How did you know I was going to approach the Lars?"

"Because you always wear that look when you are about to visit them. He is gone Obi Wan. If you tell them now who they are, they will hesitate to do the task ahead of them."

"If I don't tell them, he will and you know what will happen then." Catherine said nothing. She sat next to him. "When I first saw him, I was a little jealous because he had my master under my little thumb. Everyone said that there was a dark cloud around him but he didn't want to listen. He firmly believed that he was the chosen one and after he died, I swore that I would fulfill my promise to him and train him to fulfill his destiny."

He sighed.

"I failed."

"You didn't fail him Obi Wan. That boy betrayed all of us. He betrayed you, me and most of all he went behind our daughter's back." Her tone hardened. "If it wasn't for him, she wouldn't have gone to the Empire, to Arthur. I seriously hope you are not considering saving him. God knows you tried."

"I am not considering anything Catherine, but I want to proceed with caution. Times have changed. The Jedi are gone and you no longer have any political power. If we do something wrong, it could mean the end of all hope."

"I would rather we all die then throw our lives away like he did." Catherine said. Obi Wan didn't argue with her. Every time they did, he lost. Catherine was strong and proud, and he admired that in her, but sometimes he feared it would mean the end of her.

To soothe her, he turned to the subject of their daughter. It was a subject that she often touched, but he was hesitant to. He had never been much of a father to her; when he revealed everything to Mary, she had reacted violently and fled with Arthur. She left him a note saying _For all that you denied me, I will take back what should have been mine and I will enjoy seeing what is left of your little order crumble and stepping over all your achievements._

The Force was strong with her. Not as strong as with Anakin, but strong nonetheless. If Catherine hadn't insisted on passing her as Henry's daughter, he would have seen to it that she was trained and what a fine Jedi Master she would have made.

 _Someone you could have been proud._ But that was something he was not meant to have. Fathers were proud of their daughters, he was no father.

"There could still be hope for Mary."

Catherine gave a sad smile. He had expected that would lift up her spirits but it did the opposite. 

"My Mary is gone. The girl I cared for died on that day that Vader was born." She said and she was right. Their daughter had died alongside Anakin on that day on Mustafar. The woman whose face was on every magazine cover and went to every charity ball was someone else.

This served as further proof that he wasn't meant to be a father. He failed Anakin (twice), and he failed his daughter.

Sometimes he would see them at night in his dreams. There they were as clear as day, gazing at each other, laughing, smiling discreetly when he came over. Obi Wan wanted to run to his younger self and tell him everything so he could prevent it from happening but every time he got closer, Anakin and Mary disappeared and were replaced by their present selves.

 _The boy you trained, gone he is. Consumed by the dark side. And your daughter, consumed by lies. They are no more._ Those had been Master Yoda's last words to him before he went into exile.

 _You are going to have to face facts Obi Wan, your daughter is gone. And your apprentice is a monster._ As much as he hated to admit it, his conscience was right. Mary had many opportunities to help the Rebel Alliance and she refused. Her mother offered her shelter, a life with the both of them. And again, she refused.

 _Everything that happens now, is Mary's doing. I can't make excuses for her any longer._ With a heavy heart, he pushed the mental picture he had of the naive, good-hearted girl he met on Earth aside and replaced it with what she was now. A callous, cold hearted monster who would stop at nothing until every rebel was killed.

* * *

"Excuse me Lord Vader." Owen said to the dark lord of the Sith. Vader paid the youth no mind, until his com link buzzed and he answered it. On the screen, a beautiful raven haired girl with sky blue eyes appeared.

"Hey laser boy, what are you doing?"

"Lyanna, not here, you know I am on duty."

"I am not going to end this call Owen until you say it to my face."

Owen sighed. "Yes dear." Lyanna laughed. "You are going to be the death of me Lya."

"Oh pooh, don't be such a drama queen. So are you coming tonight? I have something special and my parents are not home."

He knew her parents were not home. Why did she gave to say it outloud knowing the dark lord of the Sith was listening? As if she heard his thoughts, she reassured him by pushing her lips to the com camera then ending the call.

"She is going to be the death of me." He repeated to himself in a low voice thinking Vader had not heard him.

"Trouble, lord Tudor?" Vader asked him, not particularly fond of using the title 'lord' on a snobbish little brat like him. If it wasn't for him being Mary's kid, he would kill him right on the spot.

"Yes." The youth answered giving a nervous laugh. "Lord Vader!" He said, louder than he intended as the dark lord turned his back.

Vader turned back to him.

"If you would not mind, I would like to ask you not to inform my lady mother of this call. She and Lady Targaryen ..."

Vader lifted a hand, silencing the youth and nodded. "Say no more. I will keep my silence if you tend to your duties."

"Yes, my lord. Thank you my lord."

"Walk with me." He said. As they passed the metallic corridors of sector C of the Death Star, he asked him, curious to know about his mother's latest enterprise. "How is your mother's project on the rebel territories on Earth going?"

"She doesn't tell me much. I know as much as the tabloids but from what I gather, due to the lack of reports from the area, everything is going according to plan. The Rebel bases will be destroyed and Earth will be placated."

 _Good._ Vader thought. He didn't need to deal with those savages. The last time he'd been there, it brought him nothing but pain.

"My lady mother tells me you were there before, is that true?" Owen asked, curious to know about the dark lord of the sith's experience. There were all kinds of rumors flying around, thanks to the tabloids. All lies of course but he wanted to know nonetheless. _Maybe the dark lord can help me understand why my mother doesn't want to go back there._

When the Emperor gave his mother her assignment, she was nervous. She told Arthur to convince the Emperor to send someone else but his father replied rudely that he didn't have access to the Emperor. Vader and Targaryen did. So his mother was left with no choice but to obey.

"Yes, I was." Vader said, thankful that he had his mask on so the youth would not see the longing in his eyes.

_"My father is not home tonight."_

_"I know. He said, waiting until the song ended so they could go to her bedroom and truly become man and wife._

"What was it like?"

"It was very different from today. The royals had control over every corner, people spoke different languages and killed each other over religion."

"My lady mother hardly speaks of it. She tells me that people were in her words 'eating each other out'; I think she exaggerates. My mother has a penchant for being over-dramatic but I keep reading these reports on Captain Brendol Hux's books that it makes me almost believe her." He said with a chuckle. The captain was a strict officer and he wanted to keep everyone in line. He was very impressed with Lya and promoted her to Squad leader. She did such a good job that he ended making her Owen's sparring partner.

"You better believe her lord Tudor. Earth is nothing but a wasteland. A planet filled with savages and were it not for Lord and Lady Targaryen's previous work, the Emperor would have tested this weapon on your mother's planet instead of Alderaan." He said. They entered his study and he took an assignment sheet and handed it to Owen.

"Your next assignment. You are to depart in the next hour."

"But my lord, this is on Jakku. It is a wasteland!" Owen protested. Surely Lord Vader could not send him there.

"I am well aware of the minor importance of such planet. You will obey my orders and take your former tutor, Captain Hux with you."

"My lord ... forgive me but surely ... someone else."

"No!" His voice softened. "It must be you." Although he had his mask on, Owen could _feel_ the older man's anger and departed at once.

Vader took his mask off and the rest of his suit and changed to a simple dark blue and black suit. He sat down and looked down at the assignment to confirm he had sent the youth on the right place. "Good." He said when everything checked out. _Mary's voice will be off in some Force-forsaken place._ And he won't have to deal with the reminder of what could have been. He had enough of the boy, strutting around the hallways, talking to his forbidden love and making silly promises of ever lasting marriage.

 _Bah! Love!_ What good did it ever do his mother -or him?

All of this started because of love. He would have been happier if he had never laid eyes on Padme, if he had never fallen for Mary and never left his mother to fend for herself on Tatooine.

_But I had dreams. I believed I could be a legend._

He took out a mirror and traced the lines around his face. Two distinctive scars. What a legend I became.

After Obi Wan left him for dead on Mustafar, the Emperor managed to replace his leg and arm for new ones. But it was not the same. Although he had gone to a gene spa last year to get clone limbs, he still felt incomplete. Obi Wan's betrayal was one thing but Padme's ... that was something he would never forgive.

Come with me. We can be together, just you and me. He laughed cruelly. What an idiot he was for thinking she could ever love him. She had been a Princess, a Queen and then a senator, and belonged to one of the most influential families in the galaxies. And he ... he was no one.

What about Mary? He brushed that voice away. He knew exactly who came to visit him and he didn't want to see them. "You loved her." The second voice said. He rose and walked to her grandmother and spit in her face. "I love no one."

"You can fool the rest of the galaxy but you can't fool the dead. You loved her, you still do." Elizabeth of York said. Her mother nodded and added "Mary is a descendant of Melusina. She is Melusina reborn; and you are the chosen one. It is no coincidence. It was foretold."

"Prophecies, prophecies. It seems my life revolves around them. If your ancestress was so good and merciful as you claim, then she would have never done your bidding. Just think about, if you two had not asked her to kill your male descendants, none of this would have happened."

"We didn't know it was our descendants we were cursing. Neither did you when you killed most of the younglings."

"Wrong again. I knew exactly what I was doing and I relished in the thought. All those people, their bodies writhing in pain. I never felt more alive." He said giving them a sardonic smile.

But the two queens didn't swallow it. "There is still hope for the two of you to fulfill the prophecy." Elizabeth of York said calmly. A great contrast to her mother whose patience was wearing thin.

"Fulfill your destiny Skywalker, or see everyone you love die. Your choice."

"You certainly know how to be sharp lady, Queen or whatever they called you. Mary said you were a whore, others said you were a virtuous queen, but I think you are just a plain angry woman who foolishly thinks that the world owes her something. Get out of my sight."

"How dare you? I lived for my children, for my family! What have you done except wallowing in self pity? You lost a few people, that is terrible but it is not the end of the world. The Force has a destiny for you. Either you choose to fulfill it or watch over and over again as everyone you love dies before your eyes."

Vader's answer to her was a crueler smile and taking out a bottle of Dornish wine (the only good thing that had come out of that planet), he poured it on a silver goblet. One that Elizabeth Woodville recognized from her childhood home at Grafton. And sipping a bit he went to them and threw the contents in front of them. "That is my answer." He said, and his voice turned colder, his expression serious. "Get out."

Elizabeth of York took her mother's arm before she said something she would regret, and the two ghosts disappeared.

He crushed the goblet with his foot. Two service droids were summoned and took the empty shards away.

Seating behind his desk, he opened one of the drawers where one picture of him and Mary was. It was not a holo one like the one he had of him and Padme, this one was on paper and it was simple. It showed her smiling, her face so close to his cheek. Anakin was also smiling.

How much they'd changed. Mary was still a beautiful woman, but her eyes were now distant and cold. They only lightened for her son. He had also kept his figure, but his face was not visible by anyone except the high ranking officers and the Emperor.

He wanted to tear it up, burn it, and take her son from her in the same fashion her father had stole his future from him, but then he thought about her son and how happy -and hopeful- he looked when he greeted Jon and Sansa's daughter. He put the photo back in his drawer and kicked the desk.

Why was he feeling these things? Mary was nothing more but a body to keep him warm at night. He loved Padme, she was his true love. It had been written in the stars.

 _You were the chosen one!_ He heard Obi Wan's voice in his head as he recalled his former master crying in front of him, telling him what he should have done and been. _It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them! Bring balance to the Force not leave him in darkness!_

He was the chosen one alright! The light bringer, the one who was supposed to bring about a new dawn. _How is that for your new dawn Obi Wan?_ He thought as he turned on the holo news and saw his daughter, smiling at the cameras as they interviewed her about the new centers she had erected next to a statue of the Emperor, adding that her campaign to destroy the pocket cells of Rebel bases on Earth had been successful.

If Vader ever felt happy about something, it was now. Seeing Mary in her dark gown, her long auburn hair to one side of her face, smiling diabolically at the cameras; made him feel complete. No doubt Obi Wan and that woman who mocked him for being nothing were watching, and he relished in the thought. After everything that Catherine of Aragon had done for her daughter, she ended up just like him.

The irony was so sweet. But there was another emotion that welled up in Vader, and it made him feel like he had been stabbed in the heart, when one reporter asked her "Lady Mary what about the allegations that you had something to do with Sola Naberrie's death?"

The reporter was none other than Sola's daughter, Padme's niece, Pooja. The girl had tried getting elected in the senate but failed. Nobody wanted to see another Naberrie, so she became a reporter. And under a new name, almost no one recognized her as the daughter of Sola Naberrie; but Vader did and always gave her silent warnings but the girl was too much like her aunt.

Mary handled it well however, saying they were nothing but rumors but Pooja (called Riesgu) pressed on. "The names, Dunskin and Aegon. They are names belonging to the knights and kings of the old seven realms in Westeros. You yourself said that you were going to lead an investigation into her murder. Why didn't you? Are you covering up for someone? Your lover?"

Mary's eyes flared up. She opened her mouth but Riesgu got the first word again. "Or is it Vader? Are you two part of some larger conspiracy?"

Mary did her best to muster a smile "It has been a long day, any other questions you have, you can give them to my press secretary and she will forward them to me."

"What about your sister? Why isn't she with you? My lady! Is she with the rebellion because of the way you treated her? Is she the true Tudor and not you?" He saw Mary stop and look at Riesgu with a deadly look but Padme's niece wasn't intimidated. She turned her back on her and the reporters and got on the ship.

Although he couldn't see her anymore, he could feel her emotions.

He closed his eyes and tried to make contact. Although she had no formal training, she could always block him. Not this time. She was under complete duress and as he made contact he could see her. _If I could only ..._ No! He screamed mentally and pulled away.


	7. The Past is a Bitter Bitch of a Mistress

**_"Nature, nurture, heaven and home  
_** **** _Sum of all and by them driven_  
To conquer every mountain shown  
But have never crossed the river ...  
Braved the forest, braved the stones  
Braved the icy winds and fire  
Braved and beat them on my own  
Yet I'm helpless by the river

 **** _Angel, angel what have I done?_  
I've faced the quakes, the wind, the fire  
I've conquered country, crown and throne  
Why can't I cross this river?

 **** _Angel, angel what have I done?_  
I've faced the quakes, the wind, the fire  
I've conquered country, crown and throne  
Why can't I cross this river?

 **** _Pay no mind to the battles you've won_  
It'll take a lot more than rage and muscle  
Open your heart and hands, my son  
Or you'll never make it over the river  
It'll take a lot more than words and guns  
A whole lot more than riches and muscle

**_The hands of the many must join as one_ **   
**_And together we will cross the river_ **

**_It'll take a lot more than rage and muscle  
_ ** ****_A whole lot more than riches and muscle  
It'll take a lot more than words and guns_

**_Nature, nurture, heaven and home  
_** **** _Sum of all and by them driven_  
To conquer every mountain shown  
But have never crossed the river ...  
Braved the forest, braved the stones  
Braved the icy winds and fire  
Braved and beat them on my own  


**_Yet I'm helpless by the river_ ** **_"_ **

**_~The Humbling River by Puscifier_ **

**_"There is not such thing as original idea. Everything is derivative of another 'great' idea. If there was such a thing as originality, there would be no followers and no need for leaders. The man who is truly original is in the realm of impossibility." ~Lost Book of Darth Vader, formerly known as Anakin Skywalker "The Hero Without Fear"_ **

**~o~**

Vader wanted to squeeze the life out of this annoying brat. Good parents, good family, she didn't know how easy she had it. The first time she had been spotted with Ezra, he wanted to take her to trial immediately. _"She is a traitor."_ He told his master but the Emperor didn't listen, telling him he had to be patient.

Vader wanted to laugh in his face. What was there to be patient about? Hadn't they suffered elitists like them all their lives? Palpatine had come from nothing like him. It was the only reason why he respected him, because no matter how despicable his actions were seen by others, at least he never gave up and pretended like the rest of the hypocrites in the Senate whose only care in the world was to win votes.

Palpatine will be remembered. They won't. Vader didn't care about his legacy, he just wanted adventure. Growing up he dreamed of visiting every planet and making a name for himself helping people. That is all he wanted to do, help people. And yet you turned to this. He didn't respond. If it had been up to him, things would have gone differently. He and Padme would have had their happily ever after. It was written in the stars after all. He knew he wanted to marry her the day he met her. She was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. _"Are you an angel?"_ He asked her. She looked at him funnily, completely bewildered, and cocking her head slightly to the left, she asked him " _Excuse me?"_

 _"An angel"_ He repeated then he elaborated. _"The pilots say that they've seen them on the moons of Iego (I think), they are the most beautiful creatures ever."_

"You are a funny little kid." He didn't say anything. He had never been so afraid to speak as he was then. She was his first love, and after she complimented him on his pod-racer, he boldly declared he'd marry her someday. Padme dismissed him, he was just a kid. He would meet other girls, it was well known that even Jedi sinned from time to time. But that was not the case. Every girl that came his way, he rejected them. Even his apprentice Snips. The poor girl had formed an attachment with her master after he saved her life for the millionth time. She came into his bedroom, half naked and said that it was alright. She was of an age to consent. In her species' culture, it was not frowned upon when a girl had sex out of marriage. That was not the problem, he told her. His heart belonged to someone else. Ashoka was angry but she got over it. But when he revealed that he had married Mary as well, she became disappointed. He was her master and he betrayed her trust. He was supposed to be infallible.

 _"There is no perfect person in this world Snips."_ But she kept on going, reminding him that she had lost faith in the Jedi, she could not lose faith in him too.

He brushed those thoughts away. The more he thought of Padme, Ashoka, and Mary … the more his heart ached to return to those times, when he was young and loved, and the future looked bright.

"My lord." A stormtrooper came into his quarters.

"Yes?"

"A holo transmission from the Lady Mary. She says she wants to talk to you right away. I told her as you told me that you were busy but she threatened to-"

"Say no more, CO-105, connect me to her."

"Yes, my lord." The stormtrooper bowed his head and gave him the key card, then left.

Mary's figure appeared before him. "So you know?" Vader said nothing. "You miserable bastard. You put her in my path. You knew that bitch's niece would be there."

"I did no such thing."

"Really? Then why do you have your mask off?" She gave him a cruel smile. "I knew you far better than SHE knew you. You set me up. You are jealous just as you were jealous of the thought of someone making me happy that wasn't you."

"You want to know why I sent your son away Mary? It is not because I hate him, or I feel any love for you, it is because he is useless as you were."

"Don't you dare lay false claims about my son."

"They are not false. Everyone here says so. Just ask Grand Moff Tarkin or any Inquisitor who's trained him over the past six months. Proud and arrogant like his father, like your mother."

At the mention of her mother, her gaze hardened. He had stroke a nerve, and now there would be hell to pay.

"For every time you lay with her I lay ten times more with Arthur. You want to go into my mind Anakin?"

"That is not my name."

"It is your true name, the name of a slave." He balled his fist. Would if he could strike her down. Force, how he hated her, that smile, those eyes, drove him to edge of madness. Knowing she had stricken a higher chord, she continued, laughing by the time she got to Padme. "And while you copulated with her, I was back home opening my legs for Philip."

"You lie. I would have known!"

"Oh yes, you would have but you were so busy sleeping with your wife that you didn't notice others' presence in me."

Lord Vader smiled cruelly. Lying to him came so easily. He wanted to wrap his hands around her neck. The thought of touching her again brought him arousal. He could feel his pulsating groin against the hard fabric of his pants.

"Let's see, first it was Philip then it was the harpist, and then there was my father's squire and my real father."

"You lying whore." He said and she replied "I learned from the best." At this, they broke in laughter.

"I have missed our little chats." He said. "I forgot how much I want to kill you."

"And I how much I enjoy driving you crazy." Mary said then she became serious again. "Did you send Pooja Naberrie to me?"

"No."

"Don't lie to me."

"I'd never lie to you. I did not know that she'd be there. That is the truth."

Mary believed him, then she asked him what he was going to do about it. "She is going to be investigated, fired and barred from ever setting foot in a newstation again." He told her, then asked seeing her look. "Doesn't that satisfy you?"

"It does though …"

"Though, what?" He asked.

"I can't help but admire her passion. Seeing her there, she reminded me of my sister." Vader said nothing. He had befriended the former Princess after her father had declared her illegitimate and showed her the secrets of the Force from his Jedi lessons and even took her with him and Ashoka to Naboo. What a mistake. "Have you heard any news about her?"

"None, what we have on the archives is information about her mother. She has been sighted on many towns. The Imperial scouts are already on their way."

"Is that where you sent my son?"

Mary's hatred for the concubine was legendary. After all these years it hadn't subsided. Vader couldn't blame her for that. When he met that woman, she saw him with worse eyes than her mother.

"Your son is part of a special platoon. He wasn't sent there. These are trained officials, I wouldn't risk promising careers to catch a woman who's one of the leaders of the strongest pockets of resistance on Earth."

"My father should have burned her body. Then her soul wouldn't have found its way to her new body. If she is the one who gets ahold of the Death Star Plans then we are all finished."

"She won't. Anne Boleyn was not given the plans."

"How do you know?" She was sure it was her. Who else would Princess Organa confide in?

Vader leaned back and told her everything that had transpired, including his interrogation of the Princess, and how she reacted after they tested the weapon on Alderaan. He was too tired, as a result of his frustration with not gaining information from the stubborn girl, that he didn't see Mary's look of shock.

"Tatooine?" Mary tried to keep her tone neutral. It cannot be! If Vader or worse, the Emperor were to find out about her offspring and Padme's … _No!_

Vader's voice broke her thoughts. "You seem distraught Mary. Is there something you want to tell me?" He asked, intrigued by her near mental breakdown.

After all these years, their connection was still strong. And whenever they were this close and she was distracted, he had better access to her thoughts.

"Nothing except …" Think of something fast. "Her …" she said, nearly choking as she brought herself to say it. "Padme … that is where you took me to your mother's grave and where I encountered her."

Vader understood now. So she could believe him, she projected the images of when the two women met, and clashed.

"Mary, if I could have spared you the pain I would have but she was right. She was my wife."

"I am … was your wife. I loved you."

Her use of past tense hurt Vader, but he said nothing of comfort, only "I know."

There was a long pause. Vader finally decided to break it and tell her he had to go. She didn't fight him; he ended the transmission and leaned back against his chair.

_"You … you promised me I was your true wife. You said they were all lies … You were supposed to love me Anakin!"_

He rubbed his eyes. I was supposed to do a lot of things. But I ended up rebelling against my destiny …

For the greater good.

* * *

Jane was jealous at the way Luke had reacted when he saw the hologram of Leia. Ben said that she was some Princess who needed their help after he revealed that their father was no spice freighter but a Jedi. And Mrs. T, Ben's companion and their past teacher was once a royal who had been cloned to be one of the Emperor's assassins but she escaped.

It was a lot to take in, but after everything they had been through, nothing surprised them. "She is not that pretty." She told Mrs. T after she asked him what's wrong. "I mean, yeah she has fine clothes and everything but any harlot can have those. I bet she paid a fortune for those silks when they sell them at half the price here."

Her former teacher laughed. Jane crossed her arms against her chest when Luke asked more questions about the Princess.

Obi Wan could not say much to them. He looked to his lover, who gave him that look that said that someone was jealous. Oh boy. He had hoped that the two would not grow so close, but it was undeniable, the way those two looked at each other, and were rarely apart.

I just hope he never forms a connection. A Force connection was the strongest type of bond in the galaxy, and once someone formed it, it was unbreakable.

He decided to break the ice and take from his chest his former pupil's lightsaber. Catherine frowned when she saw it. He knew that she didn't want that thing around them and for years she tried to get him to sell it or break it, but he couldn't. It was Anakin's legacy, it belonged to his next of kin.

"What's this?" Luke asked, amazed by it. Jane was equally amazed.

"This was your father's lightsaber" Ben told them. "Here, take it." He said to Luke. Luke ignited it. Jane took a step back as a beam of blue light appeared. They were in awe of it.

Obi Wan smiled, fondly remembering when it had been their father. Then surprised them again by pulling another lightsaber. "Another?" Jane asked. "You said Jedi could only have one."

"Those are the rules but this is not your father's lightsaber but mine. It took me many years to get it back after an unpleasant deal with some shady businessmen." He said and turned to Catherine who didn't look too pleased. This was the first time she heard of this. Obi Wan had lost his first lighstaber after a duel with Darth Maul. He left it for lost until he came across one of the market near the area where they were selling forbidden relics, and he found it.

"It was from when I was an apprentice, a young Padawan. My master helped me made it. It is yours now." He told Jane.

Jane ignited it. A blue light came from it. It was darker than their father's, but no less intense. She looked at Ben with curiosity and confusion. "Why are you giving me this? I can understand Luke getting our father's but why give me yours?"

"Yeah, what's the deal Ben?" Luke asked, also curious.

"Anakin was one of the greatest pilots I have ever met, and a great friend too. There was nothing your father could not do. They called him the "hero without fear". I want one of his children to have something of mine." Ben said smiling again at Catherine. She gave him a small smile. The topic of Anakin Skywalker was always hard for her.

She and Anne hated him. The two blamed him for what happened to Mary and the situation on Earth. But more than that, it was difficult for Catherine because he said children in a low voice, lamenting in his own way, their daughter's departure.

"What happened to the Jedi? Uncle Owen never wants to talk about it."

"Yeah, he said our father was a spice freighter and our mother a dealer but Luke and I never believed it."

"Your uncle just wants to protect you. After the Fall, it became dangerous to train Jedi. Every person who was identified as Force sensitive or studying in the ways of the Force, was immediately selected for termination or sent to training camps to become one of the Emperor's assassins under the tutelage of Lord Commander and Grand Moff Targaryen or Hux."

"So it's all true then?" Jane asked.

Ben nodded. Jane and Luke smiled at one another. "We knew it. We knew we could not be the only ones who were different." Luke said, holding his sister's hand with excitement. "But wait? What happened to our father? How did he die?"

Obi Wan paused. Catherine gave him a warning look that said 'Not yet'. "A pupil of mine named Darth Vader, skilled and ambitious, turned his back on the Order and the Old Republic. He betrayed and murdered your father."

Catherine gave a mental sigh of relief. They both felt guilty, but it was better that they never knew the monster their father had become. Or her mother, She thought, in the case of Jane.

Luke and Jane's grip on each other lessened. Part of them had been so hopeful that Ben was going to give them another big surprise.

"For over a thousand years the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and prosperity throughout the galaxy until the dark times, until the Empire. This is the symbol of our order, it is your legacy for you to restore it."

"Us?" They asked in unison. They wanted to fight the bad guys, be heroes like in the holo dramas, but what Ben was asking them was crazy. If the Jedi were extinct, why would they even try to bring them back?

"It is your destiny, Luke, Jane. You are your father's children; you are our hope. Come with me and Catherine to Alderaan so we can give the plans to the Rebellion."

"No, we can't go there. We have a lot of things to do and we still have another season before uncle Owen …" Luke sighed. "Look, we hate the Empire as much as you do but there is nothing Jane or I can do about it."

"He is right. Besides, we are just two people. We would need a whole army to defeat them."

"You do not need an army." Catherine said, addressing them both at the same time for the first time. "We just need you. Your father was seen as a hero by many, and seeing the son and daughter of the greatest hero the Republic ever had, will bring hope to many people."

"But uncle Owen." Luke started again and Obi Wan said something that made him and Jane become alert.

"Luke you are not a moisture farmer and Jane, I have heard you speak of freedom many times. Your place is not here. You two know it. And it is not safe either, if the Empire gets wind of the plans inside this little droid, they will trace them back to you."

"What?" Jane asked, her eyes widened with fear.

"Shit! Uncle Owen!" Luke said and he and his twin ran to their uncle's speeder.

Ben yelled at them not to go, it was too risky but they didn't listen and seeing they were not going to be dissuaded, he and Catherine got on the speeder with them.


	8. The Shape of Things to Come Part I

**_A/N Preview of future chapters_ **

_"You want to know the cold, hard truth Mary?" Anakin, not Vader asked him. "Life is cruel, nobody cried for me when my mother died. I refused to cry because she died in my arms believing that I had become a master. Everything that I was meant to be, I failed and every time someone wanted show me kindness, they'd turn their backs on me and tell me 'be strong Anakin. You are the chosen one, the one who will bring balance to the Force. Qui Gon died so you'd be trained. Prove to us he was right and we were wrong.' I never received one smile, one touch of kindness unless I smiled and acted the grateful one."_

_"I am sorry." Mary said._

_"You don't have to be sorry. I should have been there for you. I wasn't. I don't want to be their chosen one, I don't care about the Force, the Jedi, the Sith. I care about you and my children."_

_"It's too late for that Anakin."_

_"No, it's not. Let's go, just be you, me and the baby. Fuck the rest."_

_"What about Luke? My father? My mother? And the rest of your family. They look up to you. You're the only one that can defeat Palpatine."_

_He kissed her. "None of that matters, I tried to be a Jedi, I failed. For once, I just want to be Anakin."_

_How easy it would be if she just said 'yes'. But then she thought about their children. They were their responsibility, what would they say if their parents left?_

_But then, hadn't they suffered enough? Hadn't they done enough for their parents? Anakin was right. Nobody had been there for him when he lost his mother. Nobody had been there for her when her father treated her no better than his dogs, and discovered her true parentage._

_She relented. "If we do this, you must be sure." He said and she smiled, begging God for the first time to help her take out those fears and doubts, including her fathers' voices, off her head. She didn't want to leave with them still on her mind._

_'The last thing I want is to have their voices in my head.' She thought then begged the Lord 'Take them out of my head. Don't let me see them.'_

_She just wanted it to be her and Anakin, just like it was always meant to be. Just him and her without a care in the world for the rest._

_~o~_

_Mary looked at her bloodied hands. No, no, she couldn't be losing the baby. This was impossible. Her father's voice came again, mocking her, asking what was wrong, then laughing, then berating her for being so weak._

_'I knew you couldn't be my daughter.' Stop it! She shouted at the specter mentally. She closed her eyes and opened them. He was gone, but in his place was someone she'd come to fear -and loathe- more. And he grabbed her and pushed her on the bed and said "You won't lose anything but your sanity." Then it all became black._

_~o~_

_Obi Wan looked at Anakin uneasily. The two refused to talk. After what seemed an eternity Luke broke the silence by telling them they had recovered the security code for the Lord Commander's apartments._

_"Mon Mothma has a special team who will create a diversion so we can pass undetected."_

_Obi Wan thanked him. Luke left the two men alone, along with his sister who had no words other than repeating the security pass phrase from the screen._

_"You must feel really happy." Anakin started. "Qui Gon preferred me over you all these years, that you couldn't wait to see me fail so you could prove to your master that he was wrong and you were right."_

_"Don't be ridiculous. It was never like that."_

_"What was it like then Obi Wan? You were the Jedi's greatest achievement, while I was the face of heroism. A responsibility I never wanted, yet the Council was happy to exploit it at my expense and then blame me for it whenever they felt like it."_

_"The Council saw that you were becoming arrogant and wanted to make sure you didn't make the same mistakes I made."_

_"I never intended to. I believed in the Jedi, I believed in the Republic!"_

_"Is that why you slaughtered younglings and thousands of your fellow brothers and sisters?"_

_"The Jedi were becoming corrupt and what Mace Windu wanted to do was murder."_

_"And that gave you the right to turn on the Jedi Order? Because of what one man did you saw fit to destroy thousand year old tradition?"_

_"The Jedi was bound to fail Obi Wan, if it wasn't me someone else would have taken my place by Sidious' side."_

_"How noble of you, sparing the burden from some poor devil."_

_"It is not simple as you think."_

_"You are right Anakin, it is not. It is far simpler." Obi Wan said. His eyes -which had shown no emotion previously- were now ablaze with fury._

_"You thought you could have it all because you are the chosen one, and when reality came crashing on your doorstep you tried to hide and run away from your responsibilities, all the while you betrayed and murdered your fellow Jedi because you refused to face your destiny and Mary, the only woman who ever saw right through you and loved you for who you were, was left to pick up the pieces but that wasn't enough for you. You had to see her suffer because she reminded you of you and you hated what you were; so you destroyed the last bit of humanity she had and made her into the monster she is now."_

_"I didn't held a gun to your head and told you to leave Mary and join the Emperor, I stuck my neck out for you. So did Pamde but when Master Yoda showed us the security recordings of you killing younglings, we knew what we had to do." Obi Wan paused. "And still … Padme believed in you and Mary, even after Padme died, she came to me and her mother and told me that you weren't a monster and that if you saw her and her twins you'd go back to the light side. When Catherine and I finally convinced her to give up her children, she cried herself to sleep and remained indoors for days. Owen didn't want her to visit Luke or Kira; and when Arthur came and told her the truth about her parentage, she freaked."_

_"You can't blame me for that. Arthur turned her into that, not me."_

_"No, Anakin. Arthur took advantage of her, but he wasn't the only who started her on the path to the dark side. It was you, it was Katherine and it was also me."_

_Anakin blinked._

_Obi Wan smirked. "You heard me right. I refused to acknowledge her and her mother because I was afraid. I wanted to be a good Jedi, and being a father was something I wasn't meant to do. I ran away, forced my lover to cheat, and Mary to run into you."_

_"And here you accusing me of a coward."_

_"You are a coward Anakin. The only difference between you and me is that I admit it and face my problems face to face, while you refuse to. It's why you lost Padme and it is why you will lose Mary."_


	9. No Light

_"Red crosses on wooden doors_

_And if you float you burn_  
Loose talk around tables  
Abandon all reason  
Avoid all eye contact  
Do not react  
Shoot the messengers."  
~Burn the Witch by Radiohead

Mary turned on the Sith holo-cron. When Vader had retrieved it from Ezra, he'd given it to her. At the time no one knew who the eighth Inquisitor was, nobody still did. It was her. She had hidden her identity well. Unlike the other Inquisitors, she didn't hunt down the Jedi. She saw no reason for it. The Jedi were easy to find. They weren't the kind to stay hidden for long and when they came looking for her, she was ready.

Although she hardly used the Force, she knew of it. When she was little, she discovered it one day when she was alone in her room. Her servant girl was outside in her cot. Her mother had told her this would be her first night to be alone. **_"You have to learn to be alone Mary, there are a lot of dangers you will face when you get older."_** Mary did learn, and that night was the first of many. But she couldn't help but wonder why her mother had chosen this night of all nights. She crept silently out of her bed and headed to her mother's bedroom. When she reached it, she found her ladies asleep and her mother in bed with a Jedi.

She ran back to her room and pretended it was all a dream. _What a fool I was. I was so small, so naïve. If I had only known back then, if I had only seen (truly seen) I wouldn't have fallen for a Jedi like my mother did._ In truth, she and her mother weren't so different. Both fell in love with dashing Jedi Knights who promised them the world. And both suffered for it. _At least I was smart to know what awaited me. She didn't give herself illusions of a happy life with Anakin._ Both of them had ambitions, love was secondary to that.

 _You're lying to yourself and you know it_. The two soon fell slaves to passion. In one heated night they swore to uphold their vows, no matter what. Mary would abandon everything -her claim, everything!- to be with him. And we almost made it happen.

Mary drank from her cup. The Sith Holo-Cron showed the order's first master and the Jedi's greatest defector. After he was killed by his former apprentice, the screen showed Darth Revan. He turned out to be a She. Revan Al-Bajir possessed the rare ability of shape-shifting. She could transform into any being as long as they were human. Bronze-skinned, almond-shaped, brown-eyed beauty, she melted everyone's hearts and became a force to reckon with during the first Galactic war.

"This is a distress call. Whoever hears this will know that I stood on the side of justice. The Sith Code is what it is. Powerful and without question, the best philosophy that has ever been conjured. The Jedi are too close-minded to see this because their eyes have been blindfolded from the truth. It is my belief and that of my future apprentice who will finish what I started that their code will be their downfall." She paused. "I have seen in the flames the one who will bring balance, who will destroy the Jedi and everything they stand for, and who will also bring glory to the Sith. He and She."

The recording stopped. She told Vader all about it. "We've been through this again. There is nothing of value there, if there was, the Emperor would have made use of it."

"Maybe he doesn't want to make use of it." Mary said, her voice distorted. Since Grand Moff Tarkin had fired the Death Star, transmissions weren't coming in. Mary's was the first one they received, and he could barely make out her form.

"Maybe he is scared."

Vader took off his mask and suit, revealing a well trained man in simple black uniform. "The Emperor is many things but scared is not. You underestimate him as always."

"Think about it. He didn't want anyone but a select few to see these files. He's always been very open with the other Moffs, why us only?"

"The Moffs don't believe in the Force as we do, and half of them don't concern themselves in old, useless religions." He said using Tarkin's words. "They'd probably think less of it. It's nothing to trouble yourself with. Revan is long dead, whatever she saw in her flames is no more relevant than what Jon Targaryen's witch saw in her flames. She believed that her chosen one would be reborn from the ashes of his loved one, when she realized it was Daenerys Targaryen, she and Jon's soldiers hunt her down and killed her dragons. Prophecies are just that, prophecies. They are no more true than your old beliefs."

"And yours?" She challenged. "Revan believed that two chosen ones would bring balance to the Force and destroy the Jedi. You and I did that, together."

Now she was going too far. Anakin Skywalker did all that on his own when he married Padme Naberrie, betraying his sacred vows to the Jedi; Vader just finished what his old self started. Mary was never involved.

"You can't deny it Vader, you know it is true. We destroyed the Jedi, we were there and we saw the creation of the Empire. Revan also predicted that there would be one amongst your order who'd take control and she was right."

"She also predicted that after one thousand years of fighting there would finally be peace and prosperity. It's just a load of nonsense. What did your son recover from his expedition?"

"Nothing yet."

"Nothing? They'd been there for one week, there should be a rebel base there. I saw in Princess Leia's memories."

"Did you interrogate her aide? Marion is the daughter of that Tyrell slut and her slut grandmother's apprentice."

"Marion Tyrell is just a useless aid. And it is Tarkin who is in charge of the lesser charges. She said nothing."

"Of course she'd say nothing. You put too much faith in Tarkin and the Moffs."

"I don't put faith in anything but the Force. The Moffs have their uses, they pacify the trouble sectors and enforce the rule of law." Vader said. "Marion is a nobody. She is no one. Even if she knew something, she wouldn't get it past me."

"You are too confident. She was counseled by some of the best schemers in old King's Landing. She knows." Mary said, wishing she could interrogate the little bitch herself. She had seen on some of the charity balls with Princess Leia, holding her head up high, and looking at those beneath the Princess Leia, as if they were beneath her as well.

"The Tyrells are nothing, they have been nothing for two decades and their descendant will die along the Princess."

"Good." Mary said, happy that justice would be brought unto the daughters of Senator Organa, the late Queen Breha, and Margaery Tyrell and Tommen Baratheon.

"Were you able to track the Tyrells' spaceship?"

"No." Vader said. Mary's face fell, but his next words made her smile. "The last Tyrell is in our holding cell, awaiting execution."

"You mean-"

"Yes." He smiled as well. "They are all dead. The last vestiges of King's Landing are finally cleansed."

* * *

_"_ _For the night is dark and full of terrors." Kinvara whispered to the Queen of Dragons before she died. She was dying as well. Blood flowed freely from her gut. Her age had begun to show._

_'_ _There is no escaping death this time.' She was ready for this. She had seen it in the flames. The Lord of Light had told her this day would come, but now that it was here, she wasn't sure if she could take any more of this pain._

_"_ _Melisandre." She told the last red priestess as she knelt before her. Her fellow comrade had been her chosen to give her the last rites as befit the Truthflame, the High Priestess of R'hllor. "Listen to me, before the light leaves me, you must know the prophecy of the Jedi, of ours, it is all true."_

_"_ _I know, I have seen it too."_

_"_ _You see but you do not know. You have seen Jon Targaryen riding into Winterfell, taking it and killing the bastard Ramsey, you have seen his offspring with Sansa Stark; but you have not seen the rest."_

_"_ _Because there is nothing left for the Lord of Light to show me. All that He has shown me, it has been a test and I have passed it with flying colors."_

_"_ _No, my friend. The Lord of Light still has much more in store for you. This isn't the end of your enterprise. You will go on to live and witness more horrors and you shall see what I saw in the flames: Azhor Ahai is yet to be born."_

* * *

The voyage had been silent. Kyra had barely said a word after she and Luke saw the burnt bodies of their aunt and uncle. The four of them barely made it out of Tatooine alive. Catherine was reluctant to admit it was thanks to Han Solo, a man whom she recognized instantly as the bastard son of Sir Thomas Seymour.

Black hair, sapphire eyes, fair skin, that cocky attitude. He was the spitting image of his father. Last she heard from the last Seymour male was that he and his sister Jane and sister in law, Catherine Fillol, were hiding in Corellia. Thomas was actively involved in the rebellion, doing what he knew best. Supplying them with arms and building a spy network in the lower sectors of the capital.  
That's probably where he found his bastard. She remembered his mother, Alia Mik-Dys. A red haired, blue eyed beauty from the lower nobility. She set the heart of the younger men at court on fire with her strange, erotic dances and outrageous flirting. Catherine wanted her out but her husband insisted on keeping her. When he finally grew tired of waiting, he agreed on her dismissal. Her father took her back to Corellia where he married her to a well-to-do business man who later joined the Separatist and died during the Clone Wars, leaving her penniless.

Rumors were that she committed suicide. Wanting nothing to do with her illegitimate child, her family dumped him in the nearest orphanage they could find where he languished for four years until he was found by his real father.

 _What a fine man he turned out to be._ You had to admire Seymour parenting skills. Not only he looked like him, he also turned out like him.

"Alright we are coming out of hyperspace. We should be in Alderaan-" he was cut off by the sounds of the ship's alarm.

Instead of alarm there were asteroids, many of them and Han was having a hard time avoiding them.

"Alderaan is supposed to be here!" Han yelled, bewildered.

"Alderaan is no more. A billion voices screamed and were silenced all at once." Catherine went to his side at once and asked him if Bail and the Tyrells were there. He nodded gravely. "This is the Empire's doing."

"No weapon that big could destroy a planet." Han said, dismissing the man's words as nothing more but ramblings from an old lunatic. Catherine glanced sharply at him and he looked up ahead.

"If Ben says it is the Empire then it must be true." Kyra said.

"Whatever kid. Believe what you want. I will try to find us a new route." Han said. He hoped this would be worth it because he couldn't stand another hour listening to these crazy people and their talk about the Force and old religions.

* * *

 _No!_ Marion slumped down, her back against the wall. "So now you know my lady, or should I say Madame since your family is no more and your title bears no weight. Give it up, you are lucky I am the one in charge. Lord Vader has less patience of traitors than I do." Grand Moff Tarkin said, leaving the poor distraught young woman.

Her home. Her mother, grandmother and ... the Queen. The true Queen of Westeros. She had been her greatest mentor. Cersei Fucking Lannister. Everyone said she was a monster -and mayhap she was- but to her she was like a second mother. When Margaery wasn't there, she was there for her, teaching her, instructing her ... Now she's dead too.

 _"Don't cry, have you ever seen lions cry?"_ Cersei had told her after the kids at school made fun of her.

_"But the rest think I am a traitor because you-"_

_Cersei cut her off. "When my husband rebelled against the Mad King Aerys the Second of his name of the Seven Kingdoms, he was a rebel and a traitor. When Robb Stark rebelled against my eldest son Joffrey ..." a pause and a long forlorn look crossed her face. "he was a rebel and a traitor as well. In Stannis' view we were all traitors. Truth is always subjective. One day when you serve the young Princess and she becomes Queen and you become her second in command, the truth will be what you make of it."_

_She is right. I must be strong like my lady mother, like my lady great-grandmother and like Cersei would want me to be._ The late Queen Dowager of Westeros had been in hiding. The price on her head was very high and despite Queen Breha's disgust, she was welcomed at court under the guise as one of her maids. Vader seldom visited the palace and the Emperor wanted nothing to do with Alderaan, unless he needed the Queen's Consort to veto something for him on the Senate. She went unnoticed by everyone, including her former enemies who'd let bygones be bygones. They had a bigger enemy on their midst after all, and they were willing to do anything to eradicate it.

She took the necklace Cersei had given her from underneath her dress. It had a lion with ruby eyes, a golden flower and a symbol that was foreign to her, all intertwined on the center. Inside was a portrait -done in the old fashion- of her. The Queen Dowager had given it to her on her eighteenth birthday. She said she was destined for great things. Her mother Margaery didn't make much of it, she told her to be focused on her studies and finding a husband instead. Her mother was still like the old fashioned ladies of Westeros, she believed marriage equaled security and so did her great-grandmother, Lady Olenna who wanted to see her with some of the finest men Alderaan had to offer.

 _I can almost feel them with me._ It was hard to believe that they were all dead. And not just them, Leia's parents as well and billions others as well. And soon she would be as well.

 _They will not see me weep. I will look every bit of the woman I was raised to be._ When she walked to her execution, they would see a woman who was both royal and courageous.

 _And my death will garner more support for the rebellion._ If she could only be alive when the Emperor fall, how she would rejoice in seeing the faces of Vader, the Emperor, Tarkin and most of all, that slut Mary Tudor who had insulted her family and whose lover killed so many. It was her hope that her death and Leia's would move many systems to rise against the empire and target their leaders.

* * *

Vader passed Marion's cell. He couldn't help but smile as he thought of Mary's enemies look of terror as the Death Star hovered on them and then saw the green flash, incinerating their planet.

Poor girl. Her guilt lay in being born in the wrong family at the wrong time. And lectured by the woman infamous for killing as many people as she and her beloved rebellion accused us of.

He shared Mary's feelings of seeing the last vestige of the capital eradicated. It was only a shame that she wouldn't be here to see her execution.


	10. Hunted by the Past

_**"Stay in the shadows** _   
_**Cheer at the gallows** _   
_**This is a round up..."** _   
_**~Burn the Witch by Radiohead** _

" _ **The ethics of altruism has created the image of the brute, as its answer, in order to make men accept two inhuman tenets: (a) that any concern with one's own interests is evil, regardless of what these interests might be, and b) that the brute's activities are in fact to one's own interest (which altruism enjoins man to renounce for the sake of his neighbors) ... What concerns here is altruism's default in the field of ethical theory."  
-**_ **The virtue of Selfishness by Ayn Rand**

"Get out." Marion told her captor. He smiled at her. Poor girl, so sweet, so kind. So like her mother. "I know you are -or I should say *were* adopted. I am truly sorry about your loss. I've told Grand Moff to go easy on you. You don't have to pay for your mistress' mistakes, we are not savages. We understand. You were just doing your job."

"That good and bad cop won't serve you. I know your kind. You all lie, that is all you are good for. My lady mother told me all about you, who you were. The Great Jedi Knight, the Hero Without Fear, yet here you are, a Sith, no better than the things that killed your mother."

"You don't know a thing about me, my lady. When my mother was being tortured and raped, I was protecting the Senator, your mother's friend, in her lake house on Naboo. I admired your mother greatly." Lies. "I had no quarrel with her or her grandmother." More lies. "But as the Emperor's second in command I am tasked with enforcing his rule of law."

"You are lying. When I was little, you came to Alderaan and you were with Brendol Hux, Grand Moff Tarkin and General and Grand Moff Targaryen and his wife, Lady Sansa along with the red woman. You told me move aside little girl. I never saw someone so tall, so bold. Everyone in Alderaan treated me like they treated Leia. My mother had been a Queen after all, and my grandmother one of the most powerful women in the Capital on Earth; to them we were still royal and every worth of respect. But you … you just saw us as insects that needed to be squashed. You're a monster." She said then with a colder voice, she added "I am not going to bend the knee to the Empire. Torture me, mock me all you want but I will never join you. I will not betray my mistress."

"Suit yourself but let me ask you … who do you think the people will remember. You, the daughter of two disgraced royals, tutored by one of the most hated women on Earth, a backwater planet with no culture? Or a Princess, born and raised, loved by all the people? Think about it."

He left her cell. The girl would turn her back on her friend, he knew. In his years dealing with politicians, he had learned one thing and that is how easily they betrayed one another to save their skin.

**~o~**

" _I knew you couldn't be my master. My master would have never done what you did."_

" _Anakin Skywalker was weak. I destroyed him." Vader answered her, securing his helmet. Ashoka had barely caught a glimpse of his unmasked face. He didn't want her to see the man she had known in her youth, he wanted her to fear her. She was nothing but a reminder of his past life, something he wanted gone like the rest._

" _Then I shall avenge him!" Ashoka roared igniting both of her lightsabers._

" _Revenge is not the Jedi way." Vader said with a mocking voice._

" _I am no Jedi." She said and unleashed her fury at him._

_The fight was over in minutes. To save Ezra, Ashoka pushed him away and it was just the three of them. Mary had joined them, smiling evilly at her._

_She couldn't bring herself to strike either of them, She had torn part of Vader's mask and she saw -not the monster- but the man. A man who had loved and raised her like he was her father. Her brother, her mentor. And the woman besides him, corrupted by greed and evil as he, was the same woman who had shown her kindness at the Tudor court._

_How could she destroy them both? How could Master Yoda lost all hope on them?_

" _I will not destroy you both." Ashoka declared. Like a drum roll, her sabers fell to the ground. In spite of the electricity, their sound reverberated in her opponents' ears._

" _Then you will die." Vader said and there was no more._

**~o~**

That was the last they ever saw of Ashoka. Mary felt no pleasure in putting an end to her former friend's suffering. A strong part of her wanted her to suffer. To know what it felt like, to have everything ripped from you. Anakin, or Vader, on the other hand, wanted to eradicate every reminder of his old life.

"How did it go? Is she dead?" She asked, echoing what she'd asked Eustace Chapuys -her cousin's ambassador- after the concubine died.

"Not yet." Anakin disappointed her. "But she soon will be. Her execution is scheduled for an hour. The Emperor did not want to wait another minute."

"She should have been the first one to go through the blade."

"She will be."

"I don't understand why you saw it fit to negotiate with her. She is Leia's best friend, there is no way she would have ever betrayed her. These rebels are too idealistic. It starts in the Upper and Higher Academies. They should eradicate those professors."

"No use. Others would take their place. This is a battle we are losing and we are losing it because the Emperor refuses to compromise with the more moderate faction."

"He shouldn't compromise. Arthur says-"

"Arthur is the Emperor's enforcer like me, he knows very little about policy except what Henry Tudor taught him and that is complete nonsense in today's world." Vader said. He sighed, shifting uncomfortably under his seat as an image of his master crossed his mind.

"What is it?" Mary asked, her voice becoming distorted again thanks to the other incoming transmission from the Emperor and Moffs.

"Something I hadn't thought I a while. It just came to me now. Do you remember when you told me about your father, your real father?"

How could she forget? Arthur had just told her. She was angry, hurt and she had run into his arms vowing to do his every bidding so he would help her get revenge.

"You said that he'd met your mother when she was a Princess and Arthur was still alive but I checked, that is impossible."

"What do you mean?" Mary frowned. She had visions of it, she had even seen them together when she tip-toed to her mother's rooms.

"Obi Wan was not Qui Gon's apprentice then. He was on trial because the other masters considered him eligible to the Agri-corps."

"What is that?"

"It is where they sent all the younglings who were deemed unfit to continue training or the council was unable to find them a master." Vader said with disgust, remembering how many young boys and girls cried, banging their fists against the council's door, begging not to send them away.

" _It is the law Anakin. They have a role, we all do. We must abide by the council's laws, otherwise we are no better than the lower systems_." Obi Wan told him. _"Yes Master."_ Anakin responded him, waving back at a crying girl who boarded the vessel to the Dothraki valley on Earth, where she would live a life of servitude, serving the widows of the great Khals.

It was one of the things that Anakin hated about the Jedi Order. Younglings barely old enough to speak or think being sent away into the wilderness, with nothing but their faith. When Anakin put them to the sword, he didn't see villains, but penniless orphans who had nothing left to lose, so he put them out of their misery.

"What does that have to do with Obi Wan Kenobi?" She said, unable to bring herself to call that man who abandoned her and her mother, her father. He'd lost that privilege long ago, along with her whore of a mother.

"Master Kenobi was supposed to go there. But Master Yoda thought that Qui Gon would be a good teacher so he paired them up. He doesn't appear under the registry of Jedi flight records, but his true parents' names do."

"What?" Mary furrowed her brow.

"Your father's parents gave him up when he was a year old which was above the age limit for parents to give up their children. They were adherents of Melisandre's faith. They believed that your father would bring about their destruction, the destruction of the Jedi that is. Then when their visions showed them the opposite, they tried getting him back but it was too late. Obi Wan was only fifteen, he was curious so he went to Earth under his father and grandfather's first and last names. Ben-Amin Mon Kenobi. He found them hidden in England training young priests, teaching them about the _true faith_ and that is where he met your mother. She was visiting the Abbey along with her husband, Arthur. She was entranced by him, his parents saw this as something advantageous and tried to dissuade him, to abandon the Jedi and serve the red god but to their misfortune, your father's faith in the Jedi was strengthened following the Prince's death."

"And where are they now?" Dead, she hoped.

Vader disappointed her again. "Gone, no one knows and frankly no one cares nor has the time to find out. Melisandre is the only red priestess. She has no knowledge of them, the red priests' records were stored in the Imperial database, but some were kept hidden and those were stolen along the plans with the death star by Jin Erso and her rebel allies."

"Didn't the Empire make copies?"

"No. The Emperor wanted every trace of the old religions gone, he wanted no one to know of their existence so it matters not, what does matter though is that they believed they could create a being of light, Azhor Ahai through your father and mother's line."

"So what? Now I am some kind of superior being?"

"Hardly." He said. He'd not give her the satisfaction, she was already too arrogant for her own good. "But if word were to get out of this, imagine what the fledglings who might have survived the purges, who trained under Kinvara and other High Priests, might think of you or your offspring."

Vader did not need to say any more. "I will take care of it. Arthur's armies and my soldiers will take care of the trainees. The Emperor needed not to worry."

"The Emperor doesn't know. I am keeping this information hidden for him … for now."

"What do you want in return?" Mary asked, her image becoming distorted as other transmissions came. They could wait. Vader smiled sardonically. "I want everything you have on your father, your mother and Anne Boleyn. I know you kept his location hidden from me, so does the Emperor but he wanted to test you to see where your loyalties lay. I don't care about that. You want vengeance as much as I do but you are still blinded by your love. Help me destroy the Jedi, and I promise you, I will get you your heart's greatest desire."

* * *

Obi Wan sighed. He had felt as if a thousand voices had been silenced all at once. Margaery Tyrell, Olena Tyrell, even the wicked queen dowager, Cersei Lannister. They were all dead. "It's alright Obi Wan. We will end this. I promise."

So many promises. How did she know they weren't going to break this one as well? But he could tell by the look she gave him that she was certain they'd not fail. Her strength gave him strength.

"What is that?" Kyra asked. She pointed to the large moon ahead of them.

"That is no moon." Obi Wan said.

"Whatever it is, there is too much Imperial activity, I will set course for another system."

"Wait, you can't do that. We need to rescue the Princess and what is left of the rebels, it is our only chance."

"Not a chance kid. If they've built a base on that moon it will be filled with Imperials and believe me, they don't take too kind on defectors." He said.

The twins looked at each other, wondering what the smuggler could mean.

"Chewie! Set course for the Hosnian system." The wookie tried but something was interfering with their controls.

"What do you mean you can't try? Try harder fuzzball!" The wookie roared and pointed to the controls and the ship's computer.

OVERRIDE -It read. "What the kriff?" Han swore, punching in every code he could conjure but nothing worked and then it clicked. "Damn. Everyone hide. They are bringing us in."

The corporals told the Moffs their tractor beam had caught an un-registered ship which had been stationed on their main hanger bay. The scanners revealed no droids on board. Tarkin wasn't satisfied. "Sent a squadron to investigate" He told the corporal.

As Han followed the old man and his crazy broad's lead and hid with the twins underneath, he thought of his pick-pocketing days in the slums of Corellia.

" _Hey Han! I bet you can't take that wench's bag." Jazmin, one of the girls who slept in the bed next to him at the orphanage, dared him._

" _Ten Kentis that I can." He said. "It's a bet." She said and pushed him. He feigned interest in the lady's strange headdress. "Is that from Earth ma'am?"_

" _Why, yes it is. But 'tis a secret. You mustn't tell a soul."_

" _Promise, cross my heart and hope to die." The six year old said, crossing his heart and making a disgusting sound signifying death. The blond broad smiled warmly at him and whispered at her companion whom he guessed was her husband "What a cute little boy, look at him Thomas."_

" _Not now Jane." He said gruffly staring ahead. In that moment, he stole her purse and ran away. The woman shouted but he didn't pay attention. He had won the wager that is all that mattered._

Little did Han know that his old man would caught up with him. Eventful would be an understatement. Their meeting was unlike anything seen in the holo dramas or the fairy tales his mom used to sing him at night where the boy finds out he's a prince and finds his way back to his loving parents.

" _Hey let me go! You jerk! I am going to tell the police." The man let him go and Han fell in a puddle of mud. "What the kriff man! Ugh!" He slapped the mud of his head, neck and arms. In doing that, he took off his jacket leaving his neck exposed._

_The man grabbed him by his collar and pushed him against the wall. "Where did you get that?" He meant the birthmark in the shape of an inverted cross. "Where did you get that?" He asked, this time louder._

_Han didn't flinch. He wasn't that scary. He had met scary people, he wasn't there._

" _Answer me!"_

" _Duh! It is a birthmark you idiot. Good thing you didn't take it off because with that grip … Ow! What the kriff, man?!" The man slapped him again._

" _I am going to report you to child services, you are from Earth right? So that means that you get to be detained and let me tell you man, they will torture you and … Stop it!"_

_Thomas let him go. "Who is your mother?" He asked him._

_Han shrugged his shoulders. Thomas grabbed him again, shaking him. "Who is your mother, boy? I won't ask again." He threatened._

" _My mother is dead asshole. She was a big shot, you might have read about her funeral in the editorials last year. It was big news."_

_Thomas let him go. There was a sad look that crossed his face but it disappeared immediately._

Han returned to the orphanage that day. He didn't think much of his encounter with the Earth man until he came and bribed the headmaster to give him custody of Han.

" _Soooo … easy labor? Hard labor? You need me to smuggle drugs? I am little but I don't come cheap, I charge, not as much as my comrades but I do like to think of myself as someone who is better than them. So what you need me for?"_

_Thomas didn't say anything, he strengthened his grip and pushed him every time he started blabbering._

" _Just to let you know, if I am going to be your crime buddy, I can't be treated this way. I need all my muscles to be functioning, otherwise I won't be able to do your bidding. Not that I should because slavery is abolished -just to let you know." He laughed at that. Just then they arrived to the man's home._

_In there, he was told the truth. He didn't want to believe it until his father told him to shut up and showed him his birthmark on his neck, along with his aunt Jane's and his cousins, Miriam and Cassandra._

" _No! My father was Aimar Solo. He was a good man!"_

" _No, Han, your mother wanted to give you a home because she loved you so she married Aimar and Aimar raised you as you were his son but after he died, your mother was left destitute. She wanted to make sure you grew up without bearing the mark of illegitimacy."_

_Han shook his head. "My father was a brave man. He is not my father and you are not my family! Return me to the orphanage!" He made a run for it but Han stopped him and gripped his shoulders, shaking him hard. Han continued to cry until Thomas shouted: "Silence! You are my son and that is the end of it! If I wanted, I would have let you in that shit hole you call home, believe me I am not happy with this arrangement but I have no choice. If the Empire were ever to find you and trace your lineage back to us, it would mean the end of all of us."_

" _I want to go home." Han squeaked looking down at his shoes. Thomas forced him to look at him._

" _This is your home now. Get used to it." He let him go. Jane took his hand and guided him to his new room. A room all for him, she told him. But he didn't feel good._

The old man and his broad broke his train of thought as they whispered among one another. "This will work." Obi Wan assured her, with a small smile.

Han rolled his eyes. Crazies. He was an idiot for trusting them, but he had no choice. He owed a lot to Jabba and if they weren't full of bantha poodoo like he suspected, it would mean a life free of debt and danger.

* * *

Vader closed his eyes. There was a presence he hadn't felt in years, and there was another. One he knew all too well. They are here. He grinned. His and Mary's dreams would finally come true; Anakin's former master and Mary's mother would finally get their reckoning.

* * *

"Great plan. You have me following this idiot, how much longer do I have to take this from him?" He asked, to no one in particular though Luke and Kyra knew it was directed at them.

"Who is more fool? The fool or the fool who follows him?"

"Hey, I am only following ya because you're paying me pal. I don't care about the Force, the Princess or this aide or the rebellion. As soon as I get my time's worth, I drop you off to the nearest rock and get out of here." Gods knows he had enough troubles as it was with his family trying to get him back, he didn't need Jabba finding them and using them as bait.

* * *

Leia could feel her friend from her cell. She didn't know how, she just could. When she was a child the two of them went to see a witch who told them their future. This witch said she descended from another great seer who'd told Cersei Lannister her future and for that she had been killed. Marion asked her grandmother if this was true and she responded "yes" but that it had been in self-defense. Her descendant told Leia and Marion that the two would face many trials and "twice they'd be shamed and robbed" from their happiness but "thrice" they'd be triumphant. "And when everything you love turns to ashes, what is left will rip everything that is pure from your heart."

"She is a crazy old lady. Don't listen to her. We will be happy. I just know it. When the Rebel Alliance defeats the Empire, we will finally have a Republic and this time it will endure." Leia promised her friend that night.

How long ago it seems. She thought. So many dreams, so many broken promises. But Leia was not going to cry and neither was she going to lose hope because this wasn't the end. After the other systems heard of the Empire's weapon, they would rally to her cause and together, they would finish what her father started.

* * *

"So this is where we were supposed to go?" Han asked after the two old geezers had gone their way. Where? Gods only knew! He wanted to get out of here. This place gave him the creeps and if it was true what the old man and his broad were saying, then no doubt the empire would torture them in the most inhumane way possible.

That is what they do after all. He thought. He had seen the empire's abuses firsthand when he had been in the Imperial Academy. His old man put up a fight but he won -as he always did- in the end and got in. He was a stellar student with a promising future until he saw what they did on Kashyyk. Chewie had been one of the few wookies to survive the massacre and for that, he swore to protect him until he repaid his life-debt. The Empire was speciest and didn't accept "this beast" with them, so they gave him two options: either abandon the wookie, kill him or send him to the spice mines where he'd serve a life sentence, or face court marshal. You can guess what he chose as he placed the cuffs on Chewie's wrists, following Luke and Kyra's insane plan.

"It's fine Chewie, let me do it. I have an idea what these two have in mind."

Finally the wookie stopped growling and the four of them got on an elevator.

He hoped for his sake that they'd get out of this alive.

* * *

"Something I haven't felt since …" Vader said, trailing off as he closed his eyes beneath his black mask and sensed their presence again. He left Tarkin and searched for his old master.

When the two found each other, it was the duel of fates all over again. Except Catherine was there and she wasn't leaving Obi Wan's side. If that monster wanted to kill Obi Wan, he'd have to go through her.


	11. For the greatness of both parties

_**"Sometimes greatness is not showing how scary you are but how determined you are to crush your enemies. Being great is not about being cruel, unless you have to, it has to do with rising above the tide and staying true to who you want to be and not what people expect you to be."**_  
~Annals of a Galaxy Undone. Author: Lady Death.

Luke and Kyra couldn't believe what they were watching before their eyes. After rescuing the Princess and her aide and getting out of alive from a situation they were sure they were done for (and thanks to C-3PO of all people), they didn't think they'd get another second chance but here it was. Their teachers were battling it out with Vader; the Dark lord of the Sith was about to strike his former master down when a tremor shook the Death Star, taking everyone by surprise.

"Get in!" Han yelled from the cockpit. That little distraction allowed Catherine to grab Obi Wan, and get aboard the Millenium Falcon.

"I nearly had him." Obi Wan told her. "Why didn't you let me finish him off?"

"Listen to yourself, he is your apprentice after all. And you said it yourself, revenge is not the Jedi way and what would that have achieved?" Catherine said as she cleaned the wounds from his arm. They were nothing compared to the ones inflicted on younglings at the old temple, but they could invite infection if they weren't treated properly.  
"Besides, we have more important things to do." She added, and pointed towards the direction that the Skywalker siblings were seated at.

"They will never know, will they?" Catherine asked.

Obi Wan didn't respond immediately. What could he say? He'd sworn not to reveal the truth to them right away after their first meeting. Catherine was afraid how they'd react to it.

"In time. Once Vader and the Emperor are vanquished, they will know. We owe it to their parents."

"We don't owe them anything." Catherine said. "I hope you're right about this Death Star plans business. Almost everyone in the Rogue One crew was killed. It better be worth their sacrifice."

**~o~**

And it was. But not to Han. Oh no. He was done with this business about the rebellion. He owed a lot of money to Jabba the Hut, and not wishing to inflict more pain on his family, he also wanted to return to them and explain his behavior.

"So you're leaving, just like that?" Kyra asked, annoyed that Han could give them no better excuse. "You are better than this Solo!"

"Listen kid, you and your brother got me in this mess, I don't intend to stick along. I am a space smuggler, ok? Nothing honorable about thieves, that shit is a lie."

"Really smooth Han. You are going to leave us when we need you the most. You are a good pilot; you could really make a difference."

"I was never in it for the rebellion kid,, you know that." He told Luke.

"So I guess you really care about the money." Luke said and turned his back, Kyra did the same. "Hey Luke, Kyra!" They turned. "May the Force be with you." He said and the three parted their ways.

"It is going to be okay. Kyra, right?" Marion asked Luke's twin sister. Kyra nodded. "Your friend is just having an identity crisis. Comes with the territory, being the son of that rake after all."

"What do you mean? His father belonged to the greatest noble houses in Coruscant."

"That's what he wants everyone to believe." Marion said, her voice tinted with dark humor. "May I sit?" Kyra nodded, not understanding what was it with these royals and their strange manners.

"Han Solo spent most of his young life an orphanage until he was found by his real father. His mother and he … they uh…"

"Yes, yes, I know. I am a farmer, not stupid." Kyra said. She had seen dozens of students engaging in sex in the parties she and Luke went to at Biggs' house. The two of them were always curious and always tempted by the opposite sex, but they never got to it because they knew how much that would disappoint uncle Owen and aunt Beru.

"Of course you are not." Marion said, not expecting the farm girl to be this aware. "Well, they got together and to avoid being shamed at the public square, she married Aimar Solo who adopted the boy and raised him as his own. Very few in the rebellion know this, don't go around spreading it. He has a big bounty on his head and if word got out who his parents are…"

"Don't, I know. I won't say anything, I promise." Kyra said. "So what now? We just fly on the death star, expect them to welcome us with open arms and blow it up?"

"Pretty much. Look, I know this isn't easy. Leia told me all about your family. I am sorry. This might not feel like much, but you have the rest of us here. We are all practically family here. We have to be."

"Thanks, I really appreciate it." Kyra said, smiling for the first time in a long while to her (unknown and real) twin.

* * *

Vader wanted to kill that son of a bitch, Tarkin! How dare he ruin his opportunity? He was this close to striking his master down. Damn him. Vader put on his mask and walked to meet his troops. Tarkin voiced strong opposition to his decision but Vader paid him no heed.

He was tired listening to Imperial officers. Wasn't the Dark Lord of the Sith? The Emperor's right hand man? He could hear Mary's voice taunting him, daring him to act. Well now I will sweetheart, he shouted mentally back at his conscience.

He was going to take the rebel scum himself or die trying. Maybe then Mary will be happy. Without him the Empire wouldn't last, and Mary's husband who was nothing more than a pampered royal fool, would undo everything he and the Emperor had achieved.

He told his troops that they were more than just men, they were an important part of this Empire. They would not fail. "The rebels see themselves as true martyrs. Most of them have not been hungry, have not begged in the streets or known firsthand the horrors of slavery, or being deprived of everything. They come from everything, to them losing everything means having their properties seized, their reputations ruined. We have known hunger, we have known the horrors of a failed system that promised safety and instead brought us chaos. That is the system they cherish. Let us show them once and for all the true might of the Empire!"

His troops roared with approval and climbed aboard their TIE ships.

It was all or nothing. Today the Rebels would witness the greatness of the empire.

* * *

**Next chapter: A victory and a defeat, and anger possesses the Imperial couples.**


	12. So Close and So Far

**"Walking, waiting  
alone without a care  
Hoping and hating things I don't care  
Did you think it's cool to walk up right  
to take my life and fuck it up?  
Well did you?  
I see hell in your eyes  
Taken in by surprise  
Touching you makes me feel alive  
Touching you makes me die inside.** **"**

_**~Slept so Long; Queen of the Damned Soundtrack** _

**_"I had to share my own feelings and they were widely shared. We had to question ourselves: Is our country coming apart? What are we becoming?"  
~Dan Rather in The Sixties Documentary presented by CNN_ **

**_"All those years that I spent in the classroom I sowed many seeds so let my seed take root."_ **  
**~NCIS: Los Angeles**

Kyra inhaled and exhaled. Today would be the day of reckoning. But she wasn't ready. Luke said that they ready, but she didn't feel like it. The empire had more guns. Did the Rebels expect they'd just let them in through the front door? It was impossible. _"Clear your mind, Kyra."_ Her (unknown to her) grandfather had told her. _Just clear your head._ She repeated in her mind. This would work. It has to work. Otherwise it would spell doom for them and their new friends.

In an out. Kyra repeated.

"Echo, five leader." Did she just hear five or fire? It didn't matter. The number written in the basic tongue on her right shoulder read 'five', so she responded. It turned out that she was wrong; he did mean 'fire' leader.

 _Oh kriff._ "Don't worry sis, we all make mistakes, you more than everyone but it will be a piece of cake." Luke's voice brought her little reassurance but it was refreshing to hear her brother's voice nonetheless through her comm.

"I haven't told you the time we stole Aunt Beru's necklace and traded it with those Jawas for that B5 unit."

"It's the worse bargain we ever got." Kyra said, allowing herself to smile and laugh. "Poor aunt Beru she nearly had a heartache." She sighed. "Whatever happens Luke, let's make them pay."

"Roger that." Luke said, winking. Although she couldn't see him, she could sense him. Luke's light shined brighter than all the others. He saw the good in others, he was the idealist, the dreamer and she loved him for it. Together, they would destroy the empire and avenge their aunt and uncle.

**~o~**

The Rebellion had triumphed over the Empire. It was a big victory and a big celebration awaited the Skywalker twins and their rogue friend Han Solo. The rebellion didn't trust him since he was a smuggler and with a big bounty on his head which he conveniently forgot so he could help his friends, he was too dangerous to keep around. Yet he did help them destroy the empire's massive weapon and for that he and his friends were commended.

Princess Leia presided over the ceremony. Next to her was Marion who dressed in the same fashion, but her dress was green and gold which were the colors of the noble Houses of Tyrell and Lannister. On either side of her shoulders were their sigils, a rose and a lion.

Han grinned at Leia. She rolled her eyes but after a while, seeing that his smile wasn't going away, she grinned back.

When the three turned to face the crowd, they were met with thunderous applause.

Everything was going to change from now on. The Skywalker twins were going to be revered. Some had begun to call them "the Twin Suns" after Tatooine's twin suns, and more people started to join the Rebellion. As Princess Leia had warned the late Grand Moff Tarkin, the more the Empire imposed its iron fist on its people, the more systems it would lose.

Catherine didn't know whether to be happy or scared. They had won, but how long would this victory last? She was grateful that she had Obi Wan at her side to bring her comfort. She felt strengthened by his convictions. Whatever happened, they would face them together.

* * *

It didn't take long for the Empire to disseminate the news about the Skywalker twins or the former Hero without Fear to find out about their identities. What he didn't know was that Mary knew and she traveled to the capital, risking her safety and Arthur's wrath so she could inform the Emperor.

It was better that he heard it from her than from someone else. After reaching her apartment, she was met with her handmaiden, who paled at the sight of her. When she asked her what was going on, she handed her the magazine that her fellow handmaidens had been reading.

Mary's face turned red.

Mary bit her lips. "How long?" She asked her handmaiden who cowered in fear as her mistress slowly made her way to her. "I repeat, how long have you known?"

"Lord Targaryen didn't want to tell you. He and Lord Tudor wanted to wait until-" She was cut off by Lady Mary who slapped her hard.

"Get out." Mary said. Clutching her cheek, the useless girl hurried away.

She picked up the magazine and turned the page where the article was. 

**Why I Choose to Rebel by Pooja Naberrie**

**What many students don't understand is that we need all kinds of rebellion. There is such a thing as peaceful rebellion and open rebellion. Both are necessary if we want to overthrow a corrupt and oppressive system. "Overthrow the machine" by Ellis Kay-Zek is an eye opener for those new to the struggles that the Rebel Alliance is facing. The Empire and their propaganda machine have been spreading lies about the Rebels. They've outraged many scholars calling their work "dishonest" and said that Academies are "breeding grounds for dissent." Nothing could be father from the truth.**

**Take my example for instance. When I was a child I admired my aunt. She was by the most perfect being on the galaxy. It was not until I grew up that I realized that this was far from the truth. My aunt wasn't perfect but neither was a villain as some would want you to believe.**

**The Empire spends millions of credits buying newspaper, sequestering our rights. Why? To keep our mouths shut, that is why!**

**Their former Inquisitor, Lady Mary, better known as "the eighth sister", was an assassin (not a judge) operating outside the law, killing many of innocents whose only crime was standing up for themselves.  
Lady Mary has given numerous interviews but every time I tried to interview her, she shunned me away. You would believe that someone who prides herself in "having nerves of steel" would not answer a simple question.**

**Academies should stop debating amongst themselves and ask the right questions. Professors should be more militant and not just emphasize on physical actions but on actions of the mind, and these include a dangerous combination (for the establishment) of physical action and speaking up.**

Mary laughed out loud. This read like it was written by a twelve year old. She kept on reading nonetheless, every word gave her strength and made her more determined to put these idealist fools down.

**The greatest tragedy in the galaxy is that we've found a way to throw people away, and tell ourselves 'things change. Things always change. We must let the current run its course.' Nothing can be more dangerous than this. Members of the cloth have started speaking out against the Empire. (Those of you who have read my editorials know that I am no friend of the priests and priestesses who have abused their power for millenia, but they speak the truth and stand by the side of justice when they united against the moral corruption in the Empire.)**

**Our founding fathers and mothers would not wish to see us bow our heads down to oppression. The Old Republic was a symbol of hope, and it could have continued to be if the Emperor had not used that staged attack as a way to shut democracy down.**

**Before her tragic death in childbirth, my aunt told my mother "This is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause." I was only a child and could barely understand her sadness but now I do, and I am willing to give up everything, my own safety simply by writing this piece, to see a better world for the children that are yet to be born.**

**So raise your voices, and don't be afraid to face the consequences because mark my words, there will be consequences. But if there is one thing history has shown us is that history will always stand on the side of righteousness. They will crucify you now, but celebrate you tomorrow.**

**And this comes to my last point: Victimhood. Mary loves to make herself a victim. But is she a victim? This is a woman who called herself the Eighth Sister when she was part of the Emperor's Inquisitorial team. She tortured innocent souls and killed many of your sons and daughters. Think of how many parents still don't know where their kids are. The Empire has not given them bodies, they probably burned them or sent them to their recycling plant and turned them into food to be fed to the poorest sectors of the central core.**

**Does that sound to you like the system you should be defending, or a woman whose hands are clean?**

**Mary Tudor betrayed her own lineage to gain more power and she would sell her son -if she could- to gain more. This a woman who cares for no one else but herself and who has sold herself to the highest bidder and that highest bidder is the Emperor.**   
**There are legitimate arguments for feeling sorry for her. But here is the thing: You can feel sorry for someone and still hate them. And that is how I feel about the Lady Mary. No one should go through what she went through but her experiences don't condone her actions. She is a hate-monger who's been calling for an extermination of all force-sensitive youths (when she is force-sensitive herself). There is nothing noble about this woman and no one should try and defend her. When you do, you ally yourself with her philosophy and her philosophy is one of lawlessness and death.**

**"** Dirty Wench! **"**  Mary roared and tossed the magazine across the room. This was written by a twelve year old, trapped in an older woman's body. Pooja Naberrie, niece of that sanctimonious bitch, Padme Amidala Naberrie.

The Emperor should have those Academics when he had the chance. The Academies were nothing but breeding ground for terrorist groups. They radicalized students and turned them into warriors for justice. Justice! Ha! What did they know about right and wrong? They were spoiled, rich youths who had never had to beg for anything in their lives. Everything was handed to them, to them it was so easy to raise their voices and send others to their deaths.

The Emperor was beginning to see the error of his ways and started sending spies into the institutions to see which professors were responsible for sowing the seeds of rebellions. To his chagrin, it was everyone.

He should kill every one of them. _If I could, I would push the blade through their throats myself._

She closed her eyes and cleared her mind. If she became too distressed Vader would sense her through their bond, and she didn't want to deal with him right now. She had bigger fish to fry.

You can do this. She opened her eyes, composed herself and contacted the Emperor. The Emperor was a busy man had no wish seeing Anakin's former whore, now Arthur's. "What is it you wish to discuss my dear that couldn't wait until tomorrow morning?"

"It is morning where I am Your Highness, and it is not something easy that I wish to discuss." She said, failing to give him her best smile.

"As you know the death star has been destroyed by the rebels."

"I am well aware of that." The Emperor said, his tone hinted of annoyance. He'd been reminded of Vader's failure every day, the academies reminded him of every day they appeared on the holo-screen, demanding he be tried for treason. _Indoctrinated fools._ Unlike Vader he didn't think much of them until the plans for the death star were robbed and it turned out one of these students had something to do with it.  
Since he disbanded the Imperial Senate, he no longer had to wait on pesky politicians' approval, to execute his orders. With a flick of a switch, he could do it. His men were loyal and well trained, and they would not hesitate to fire at many of these students and their teachers if possible.

"What is it you want to add, Lady Mary?" He asked, he was not going to address her by her former title. She was a bastard, plain and simple. But one who achieved something using whatever resource she had at her disposal and he respected her for that. What he couldn't tolerate was her constant wallowing in self-pity. If there was something Palpatine hated more than anything, even the Jedi, it was self-pity. It was self-defeat, it was self-deceit, and it was useless.

"My lord, reports will come to you no doubt about these rebels' identities. And I want to tell you firsthand what I know."

"What you know is what the rest of my staff knows."

"That is not true." She said and her boldness surprised the Emperor. "I know who blew up the deaths tar. I do not know who piloted the ship that shot Vader's off course but I know two of the pilots who aided in the weapon's destruction."

"Who are they?"

Mary lowered her head. This was the moment of truth. "Who are they, Lady Mary?" Mary looked up, fully composed and swallowing her pride hard, she forced herself to admit the truth. "Luke Skywalker and Kyra Skywalker. Padme's son and my daughter."

~o~

If Vader was angry, he would have killed one officer and asked his men to remove the body and throw it off into space or into the garbage disposal where his body would be recycled and transformed into cheap source of protein. But this time he was furious. Arthur Tudor claimed he didn't know, but didn't he? The man had seduced and slept with the Lady Mary so he could get revenge on her sweet mother. He probably knew and was hoping Vader killed those two so he could have one more thing to torment his lover with.

"If he says he did not know, you have to believe him. You are not going to get the truth out of him, with all due respect Lord Vader." Jon said when they were alone in his office. Vader took off his helmet. The scar on his face looked more marked. Nearly a week lost until he could get a clear signal. To his chagrin it was Arthur Tudor's ship that rescued him.

"I had him on my sight and that thing came out of nowhere." He complained. How could he not sense it? He was a smuggler, a space pirate, a nobody. He could sense powerful force signatures from millions of miles of away, how could he not sense his? He stared right at Jon. "Did you know of their identities?"

"Of course not. You know I would have told you if I did. Nobody could have known they were alive. Padme Amidala's autopsy showed she'd died while still carrying a child, the medical reports were filed by our men."

"And Mary's? There was no child, no trace, only her word. When she allied herself with Arthur and became one of us, the children must have been what? Four, three? She knew for twenty years that my children were alive and she said nothing." How could she do this to him?

"What could she have done Lord Vader? How would you have reacted? She still dreamed of you when she first came to us. She used Arthur as a vehicle to you as Arthur is still using her to get to her mother."

"I told her many times that it was a useless fantasy." Vader said. Under the eyes of the law, they weren't married. "I married Padme before her, our union would just have been seen as an abomination. And it would have just added more fuel to the fire."

"No use keeping it hidden now. If you two were seen together, it would be easy to lure the Skywalker twins."

"We are not that people anymore Jon any more than you are Lord Commander of the Night's Watch." Vader said and Jon said nothing to that. He struck a chord there, his men's betrayal was still fresh on his mind.

Vader smirked.

"What's so funny?"

"Padme and Mary hated each other, swore they would have nothing to do with one another. Now their children are together, leading some deluded fantasy crusade that they can overthrow the empire and turn back the clock on the galaxy. It's really one sick joke."

"They have grown up as twins, lied to by Kyra's grandparents. What did you expect? If they were told the truth however, they'd turn their backs on them." Jon then asked. "Have you gotten a good look at them?"

Vader nodded.

"They look just like you, though Kyra has her grandfather's eyes."

Vader nodded again, frowning at the prospect of coming face to face with them. Those two were the last links to the person he'd been before the fall of the Jedi; they could serve as powerful tools to overthrow the emperor, or liabilities.

"What are you going to do? The Emperor expects an answer from you soon."

"Nothing. If the Emperor wishes to contact me, I will respond. Until then, I will do what I do best." He said and put his mask back on.

~o~

"Aunt." Han greeted. Jane stepped in followed by his cousins and his father. "Dad." Thomas nodded at him. "What brings you to this side of the galaxy?"

Jane smiled warmly at her nephew. "We heard of your recent victory and we thought we would come by to pay our respects." She told him, and after what seemed an eternity, she hugged him. "We really missed you."

"Missed you too, aunt." Han said, kissing the older woman's cheek. "Why didn't you stay in Corellia? It's safer there."

"Not anymore. The Moffs are becoming crueler. The Emperor has grown paranoid. Last week there was a raid at the Noble Academy of Thought at the capital. Thousands of students were apprehended and later shot. We live an intense climate of fear, and with a bounty on your head, well we just thought better to come here."

"I see." Han said, feeling guilty that he had forced them off their rock. "Well, make yourselves at home thought it is not much it is far better than the places I've traveled."

"We heard about your exploits. They are calling you a captain now." His younger cousin said."

"Yes, it is. Though between you and me, I think it is a waste of time. Never been one for titles. And I don't think the officers here have any respect for independent thinkers like me."

"Don't forget charming." His other cousin said.

"That too, cos." He said, winking at her.

"They are seasoned officers whose higher rank demands obedience and respect from their fellow men." Thomas said, cutting through his son's foolish remarks.

"They should know better than to promote a smuggler then." Han said with a grin.

Thomas grinned back. "You think you are so funny, don't you?"

"Thomas, not now." But Thomas didn't listen.

"Prancing around, showing off your medal, eying the Alderaani Princess. They will never accept you as one of their own. You have done nothing but hold them back months with your attitude and reckless endangerment of the many men and women whose families died fighting tyranny. What do you know of order, discipline, honor? You barely got through the Imperial Academy."

"Thomas that is enough. We came here to show our support to Han and that is what we will do."

"No, let him aunt. Let me tell you something old man, your honor is worth nothing here. Unlike those fools on Earth you fought with, people here fight with everything they've got. This is a war if you haven't noticed and everything goes in war."

"Your medal will be worth nothing if Jabba finds you, if he hasn't already found you and we are sitting ducks here, waiting to be captured and used as bait so you can be lured in through your sentimentality, into his lair."

"Don't confuse me with you. I have no feelings for any of you."

"Han!"

"It's the truth. If Jabba were to come here and offer me a big load of credits to get you off my back, I would. All those years spent in that prison were better than the years I spent in your house, lecturing me about what a burden I am to you. But please, make yourselves comfortable. Tell the officers how precious they are for sending millions of youths to their deaths with stupid concepts of honor and morality."

"At least they have a sense of moral duty." Thomas told him.

"They can afford to have moral duty. If they were to die, their families would still have credits to buy safe passage into the outer rim or keep the rest of their finances if they bend the knee to the empire. They can swallow all that cock and bull about honor, because they are the kind of people that the Academies targets because they are stupid enough to believe in it, and their families encourage it because nothing will happen to them if their sons or daughters die in some gods-forsake mission. People like me on the other hand, who have had to live off the scraps people like you threw on us so you could feel better about yourselves, know better."

Thomas clenched his fists. He wished he could slap his son, slap him good. _Reckless, amoral fool! I should have left him where I found him._  
He regained his composure, smiled sardonically at Han then turned his back and left.

"Well that went well. Girls could you give us a minute?" Jane said, closing the door after her daughter and niece left. "You shouldn't be so hard on him. Your father is a hard man but he wasn't always like this. You remind me a lot of him when he was your age. If you only were patient."

"I can't be any more patient than I was when I was back at Corellia, aunt."

"Did you really mean all of that? Were we always a nuisance to you?" Jane asked, readying herself for his answer, whatever that may be.

"No." Han said honestly. "But every day I was at the house I felt like a burden." His father would remind him of that every day he came home from school. He'd criticize him for the way he dressed, the people he hung with, and discourage him from anything that didn't have to do with fighting for his precious rebellion, which was everything in Thomas' eyes.

"He's been through a lot. After we lost our brother and the rest of his family followed, Thomas would often ask himself if this was the price for what he'd done? If God was asking for some kind of retribution. He was never a true believer, and to this day he isn't but he sees God here and there. When he looks at you, he is reminded of his past sins and he doesn't want you to make them, that is why he is hard on you."

"I am sorry, I really am, for both your losses, but I am not about to give everything up just so he can feel better about himself. I make my own path, and if I make mistakes along the road then that is fine, but they will be my own mistakes not others' to make. I didn't want this burden on any of you and I do intend to pay Jabba after I am done with this charade."

"It looks as if the charade is on you. Look, Han, I know it is not my place to tell you how to live your life or what to do about your father but I do it because I am your aunt and I care about you. You make your own path, that is true. But you do it with the people who love and care about you, otherwise you are just a rogue and nobody wants that life for themselves."

"What is so bad about being a rogue? Been like that for nearly a decade, it's never bothered me or Chewie." Han asked.

"You are too much like Thomas. Please reconsider his words and …" she paused. This was going to be controversial but it needed to be said, because this was something she had experience with. "… don't aim too high."

Han grinned. This was about the Princess, then. He should've guessed, given his aunt's history with royals.

"I know you love her, I can see it in your eyes but she is a Princess and a politician most of all. People like her think too highly of themselves and she just lost her planet, she will see you as nothing more than a distraction from her pain."

"I don't know Aunt, she looks pretty serious about me, to me." He said, laughing lightly.

"She is not." Jane said, turning completely serious. There was another reason why she was against this, but she dared not voice it to Han (just yet). "You can fancy her if you like. She is beautiful, I will give you that but if you stay here for too long you'll be caught in her web and you will forget about everything else, including your debt."

**~o~**

Leia tried being civil to Anne Boleyn but every word that came from the former queen of England's mouth was filled with intense hatred. The lady Seymour, who was also a former queen of England, gave similar remarks, except that hers were more of veiled threats in comparison to her predecessor.

Four royals stuck on this base, and only one agreed with her on everything. The rest were sarcastic and falsely civil. Leia didn't know who to hate more, Anne who was blunt or Jane whose fake sweetness, both sickened and puzzled her.

 _Is this because of that laser-brain?_ She and Han were treated like they were a couple but she had to assure many on the base they were not. Han was someone with barely any ambitions. A money spender, who spent and produced nothing -except more debt. While she had been raised as a politician, and geared towards destroying the Empire and establishing a new republic. One that would work and whose sole aim would be for peace and towards the plight of the working people.  
Jane Seymour however didn't see that. To her, Leia was just another ruthless politician like the ones she'd encountered on Earth, who wanted to take advantage of her nephew. Use him as a distraction then discard him when she had no more use of him.

She didn't need a warm body on her bed to distract her from the pain she felt; she did that all by herself when she engaged other former politicians, freedom fighters and rebel leaders, planning the next assault on an Imperial base. _**Even if**_ she had use of him, she would never take his feelings for granted. She was not that kind of person.

She went to her friend's room. Marion was comfortably on her bed, reading one of the classics from Earth. She had no love for that planet. She considered its many cultures savage that needed to be done away with (although she'd never admit to such a thing in public given how politically polarized everyone was nowadays) but loved their writers. They had more imagination than any of the ones whose books she picked from the royal library at Aldeeran.

"What are you reading now?" Leia asked, pulling a chair and sitting next to her.

Marion showed her. It read 'Le Mort de Artur.' It is the death of King Arthur."

"Yeah, I know. Your mom used to read it to us all the time, remember?" Marion remembered. "She used to say, read it in French, it is the tongue of love and everything else." They both laughed. "I never meant to drag you into this. If I could go back-"

Marion waved her hand. "Please don't. It is not your fault Leia, I chose this life for myself and my family knew what they were getting into when they asked Bail for sanctuary."

"I still feel guilty. We were so young on our first mission. Your mother was so sure we could pull it off."

"And grandmother Cersei said we couldn't and we had to call her through an undisclosed line pretending to be the delivery people next to her favorite restaurant every kriffin' time!"

"We nearly botched it. You called her sir four times after she said don't call me sir, Marion!"

"That was too funny, at least I didn't call her old lady like the last rebel girl. I don't think my grandmother was this close to killing someone with her bare hands than that time."

"Your get that from her."

"Shut up." Marion said.

"I am serious. When Winter and Caleb asked us to the dance, you said you couldn't put up with Winter because she was a whiny ass. Your words, not mine." Leia said, fondly recalling when they had their first kiss. Cersei nearly choked the life out of poor Winter, Leia's handmaiden. Unlike the rest of the galaxy, Cersei hadn't actualized her views on homosexuality and couldn't come to grips with her granddaughter's sexuality. It took her three years to accept it and it was during their first mission that she came to terms with it, when Marion nearly died, fighting for their new lost friend Ezra.

"Well if it is any consolation, I was soft on your friend Winter. She just didn't know how to take it."

"You are bad." Leia said, grinning. "Have you ever thought about Alderaan?"

"All the time, but lately my thoughts have been on images, the ones I told you about."

"They've become more frequent?" Marion nodded. "Since when? Last time you had them, we were with Ezra and the ghost crew."

"I know and I thought after what happened that I would stop dreaming but I still see them in my head. I promised myself to avoid distraction but I can't help it. Every time I think about the people we've lost, the planet that was destroyed I see them."

"I see them too." Leia confessed. "After we went to see that seer, I returned home and I dreamt of my mother, my real mother. She was beautiful, very beautiful. My eyes, my hair color but her beauty … it just shined. When I asked my father about her, he promised me he'd tell me later but later never came. Now he's carried that secret to his grave."

"At least you had early memories of her. All I see is someone who is afraid, sad but not melancholy sad … just sad. Every time I scream and beg her to turn, she runs away. One time I got this close to seeing her face but a shadow stood between us. It was in form of a man. He pointed to the window besides me and I could see the world, our home, burning."

"Do you think the queens could know of her? Your mother did say she was from Earth and part of the nobility."

Marion shook her head. "Whoever she was, I will honor her memory by standing on the side of the living, fighting to overthrow the empire just as I am sure she would've if she was here."

~o~

"They found out about your daughter."

"I know."

"Just one."

"I know."

"Why didn't you tell me where the other one was? Vader could've killed her and then what would we have? No ransom, no leverage, nothing."

"What did you want me to do Arthur?" She asked, her voice filled with venom. Arthur had become more violent in his incursions. Not that she minded, the people needed a firm hand, but he brought his work home with him and every night they were together, she could sense his disgust.

 _You thought you could be Catherine._ Her lover had become disappointed with his master's efforts to retrieve his precious jewel. And he was also getting tired of Mary who had lost all her appeal to him.  
She'd become too needy. The only thing that kept them together was their son -for whom he thanked God every day. Owen was everything he dreamed of in a son; perfect in every way, except for those eyes.

Mary saw them too and tried to look away every time, but she couldn't. He was her son, not her grandfather's, and he was the fulfillment of her dreams. Or at least he will be. Once Lady Targaryen was convinced, he would marry her daughter, thus uniting two of the more powerful families in the Empire.  
It would be one of the greatest celebrations and a slap in the face to her parents. To get a chance to see them, kneeling before me, seeing everything they cherished turned to evil. She mentally smiled at the thought of it. But as soon as the thought entered her mind, it was pushed away by Arthur's next harsh words.

"You said that we were going to tell each other everything. Now the Emperor is suspicious of my activities and with good reason. What will this say to the rest of the galaxy if I can't control the woman I love."

Love? What do you know about love? Mary wished to say but she remained silent as Arthur continued his rant. "You should have told me before you informed His Highness. Thankfully there is a way to salvage this. The Emperor has appointed me your personal bodyguard and given me permission to seize all of your assets, including your earthly possessions."

"He can't do this."

"He can, he is the Emperor my dear and without the Senate, he can do much more. If you want to regain his trust I suggest you do as I say and stop talking to Vader."

"Jealous?" She asked amused, allowing herself a hopeful smile. Perhaps he is. It would mean he was still interested in her, but his face remained impassive, and she saw disgust in his eyes when he responded.

"Vader has his own agenda, the Emperor doesn't believe he will strike against his own flesh and blood and now that you've been compromised, he believes that you will betray him as well."

"You know me better than that." Arthur wasn't so sure.

Mary had been very loyal to him, dancing to his every tune but as of late she'd become reckless.

"I served the Emperor and I serve him still. I was one of his Inquisitors, surely he will reconsider once you remind him."

"It is not my place, thanks to you he's given your position, your lands, and everything else you owned to his loyal followers, including myself, Jon and his wife."

"Sansa can't have my lands. They belong to my mother's family. They are not hers to own!"

Arthur smirked and said cruelly. "They are now dearest, and thanks to you, Owen won't have his dream wedding with her daughter." Then he left, leaving her feeling more alone and bereft of any hope than ever.

Anger inundated her. She was Mary, daughter of Catherine of Aragon, granddaughter of the great Catholic Kings who unified Spain and turned it into the most powerful nation in the world. They couldn't do this to her.

Vader contacted her that night. She didn't answer, she listened to his message instead. He was angry, demanding an answer. "I've found them and I've found about Han Solo. You knew who he was and that his family was alive. I will travel to the outer rim to meet with Jabba the Hutt. He has a lot in store for Solo and the Princess."

 _Good._ Mary didn't want to hear any more about that blasted Princess. Everything about her face reminded her of the woman who stole her dreams. _If only Vader included Marion Tyrell as well._ That girl was educated by three of the greatest royal whores in Westeros. And like all of the rebels, believed that Leia -and now Luke and her daughter- was some kind of savior.

 _Pathetic._ She sent him a written message, and informed him of her current situation. He didn't answer until a week after. The meeting with Jabba had gone smoothly -as smoothly as a meeting with a notorious gangster could go- and although he expressed no interest in that insect, he agreed to take her in, but with no less pay than for her mistress, Leia Organa. Vader paid more for her, he knew about Mary's history with Marion's mother and grandmothers, and how much it would mean for her to see the last remnant of the Tyrells and Lannister clans, punished.

She still heard their voices. Lady Olenna, the "Queen of Thorns" sarcastically remarked, how lucky she was to be a bastard and still be treated like a Princess; Queen Margaery following her lead, making pleasant conversation with Queen Jane, then turning her attention to her, trying to gain her trust in case Cersei and the Protestant faction turned against her. Last of all, was Cersei. She was the worst. She told her that she was a fool for falling in loving with Anakin and choosing him over her younger son, and that she had betrayed everything her mother stood for.

When she heard about Alderaan on the holo news, she couldn't help but smile widely. She had felt their pain. Oh yes, she did. But that pain strengthened her resolve. No doubt they had felt their deaths as well. Her father probably more since he was a well trained Jedi.

If only he hadn't escaped Vader's grasp. She would have risked her own safety just to see it, the body of the man who had given her these scars, and was responsible for her illegitimacy.

She got out ink and parchment. Most of the people didn't use it since there were more stylized tools to write but for her, this was the only way she had left to cope with the horrible reality that she had been left powerless by her partner. As she began to write, she stopped when she got to the second page. What could she admit to there? She had a part to play in this war, and had condemned most of the people of Earth to near-extinction. **"But everything I did, I did it for you."** She wrote and ended her long letter by signing it with the name she had been given at birth, not the one she sported today, but the one that belonged to her. **Mary Tudor, Princess of England.**

* * *

_"What?" Mary asked her laughing lover. "You." he responded, caressing the left side of her face. "Remind me of someone special."_

_"Oh, I hope it's not someone I have to be jealous of." She said, giving him the perfect smile. She was so beautiful, everything about her was godly. 'And yet every time I am with her, I feel a piece of myself die.' It scared him. 'What are you doing Anakin?'_

Vader opened his eyes. He hated this part of his past, he tried to bury the hatchet but every time that he saw her, he became its captive.

He had read the editorial on the Daily Sting. Funny name. They were amateur provocateurs but the Emperor didn't think so, so he sent his devil's hounds to intimidate them. All but one were subdued. Pooja Naberrie, Padme's niece didn't go after him as he'd thought she would but instead went after Anakin's lover.

Every chance she got to attack her and bring her down (politically) she took it. Mary became the target of students and demonstrators who had political affiliations to the Rebels, and she called him often, blaming him for it.

"I am not the one who fired Pooja from the Noble Academy and denied her an Honors' Degree." But Mary didn't want to listen. She thought herself better than these people but she was the same. They both wined every time things didn't go their way and were prone to violence, and just like with every fool, it was useless arguing with them.

Why do you still insist on seeing her? It sounded desperate, but he had to see her. He needed to know what more she knew about their child. Their daughter.

He wished he could have Obi Wan and that royal whore, who humiliated him at every turn, in front of him so he could present them as gifts to Mary. Will she trust me then? Or will I still be the dirty, filthy Imperial slave to her?

He had to admit, their confrontations made him feel alive, and more determined to overthrow the Empire. Mary was a loyalist to a certain point. If she saw an opportunity, she took it and if the Emperor and her lover weren't going to give her what she wanted, and push her and her son aside, she would ally herself with Vader if he promised her something beyond her wildest dreams.

He had to think things. The Emperor thought himself wise but his arrogance was his one weakness. If Vader exploited it, with the help of his offspring and other potential allies in his inner circle, he could overthrow him.

 _I can make the galaxy the way I want it to be!_ He smirked as he remembered his younger self saying to his loved one. He would make things the way he wanted them to be, but unlike Anakin Skywalker who failed because of his blind idealism, he would succeed thanks to the absence of it.

 _And I will establish a dynasty that rules for a thousand years._ His lips twisted into a sadistic smile. The Skywalker would be feared and respected throughout the galaxy, and his legacy would be secured through his children. Just as she would've wanted. He thought, thinking about his late wife's face.

_I won't fail you this time Padme._

As he whispered her name, a lonely figure appeared. Her eyes were cast down. She was nothing but a shadow of the great figure she once was. There was so much that Padme wanted to say to Ani that she didn't know where to start. She approached him but when she was midway, she stopped. Before Anakin, turned, she vanished.


	13. Life is like this

_"Won't you come and save me?  
Save me ..._   
_In my eyes, can your soul let me in?_   
_Hey, hey Jesus Christ! Deny your maker_   
_Hey, hey Jesus Christ. We'll be wasting_   
_The fear in my eyes_   
_now your soul is mine."_   
**~Man in the box by Alice in Chains.**

She tapped her foot on the ground. She was getting very impatient. When was Arthur when she needed him. "Do you have it?" She asked him when he came. He nodded, not happy to see his _'wife'_. He nearly spat the word when he thought of her in that manner. _It should be Catherine._

"Well?" She urged him.

He scowled and handed her their files. "Lived on Tatooine for twenty years, raised by Owen and Beru Lars just as you said, and watched over by your parents. None of them know they are only half related, they've grown up as twins and they are likely to stay that way." Mary turned to him and looked at him quizzically. He gave her a cruel smile and told her what Vader told him. "The Emperor doesn't want them to know the truth until they are ready. They will be trained as his replacement, but if your dear husband fails to turn them then they will die. You better pray that he does." He said taking the files from her hands.

"He is not my husband, you are." He smirked. "I love you, we have a son, I couldn't ask for a better son. I chose you because you promised me revenge and I still hold you to that promise."

"Aye, I did promise you revenge but here is the thing dearest, you are not my wife. Everyone from the Illinium system to the outer rim knows that and the fact we have Owen isn't going to change that." He paused then resumed "And you lied to me, you refused to tell me the full truth and instead resorted to Vader and I have seen through your call logs. You've still contacted him. What more are you keeping from me Mary?"

"Nothing. I love you, it is the truth."

"I know you do, I promised you something and like a lost puppy you ran towards me but the sad cold truth -and forgive me for sinning to you with cruelty for I will admit a greater sin to you now- is that you were just a body to keep my bed warm. You were a fancy Mary, a beautiful fancy but a fancy nonetheless and so I was I."

She shook her head. "That is not true. I did -I do love you."

Arthur smiled at her sadly. "We both knew what we were getting into when you accepted my offer, the only difference is that I did not delude myself." And his smile faded and without saying goodbye, he turned his back and left her there.

This was the end, Mary could feel it. All those nights lying to herself when she was with Arthur … When it should've been Vader. No, it couldn't have been Vader. Vader was a monster, a liar and a cheater. Just like your fathers. Perhaps that's why you fell in love with him.

Mary wiped a tear from her eye. It seemed so long since she shed tears for her parents. The first time she had found out about Henry VIII's annulment to her mother, she cried and remained adamant of calling herself a Princess and signing her letters as such, then when Norfolk came and tied her up, taking her to Hatfield where he and the concubine turned her life into a living hell, she cried again in the privacy of her new room. She was a Princess born and raised, she was destined to be a great leader, a warrior for her people just like her mother's mother had been.

 ** _We were all destined for great things child, but God chooses our paths for us, not men_**. Lady Bryan had told her the day after. Mary had threatened to cut her son's tongue if he spoke lewdly to her again. The fiend even tried to rape her -and would've had his mother not gotten there on time.

Mary refused to accept Lady Bryan's words and worked endlessly to appeal to her father's conscience but after finding out the truth, and remembering what she saw when she was a child, she gave up and turned her sights on Anakin.

He was the chosen one. Some people said that he was the second coming. "And he has to be." She told her friend Susan, when he returned to the Tudor court, three years after his last visit. His master was handsome, but she felt something dark within his being, that made him distrust her. That and trying not too hard to think that he could be my real father. He probably knew that she was his daughter, but like her, was trying hard to convince himself otherwise. The first time she and Anakin spent together was magical. She felt closer to God than before. But then the illusion was shattered.

 _"We cannot see each other anymore."_ She thought he was joking but his face was dead serious. _"I have a wife."_ She shook her head, more violently, than what she did with Arthur. "It can't be! That's impossible!" She yelled showing them his wedding ring and the necklace he carved for her. He told her it was made of cheap wood, the one he'd made when he was a child he'd given it to Padme and like the necklace, his heart belonged to her.

Padme! He cursed her name and wished that she would die. Why did she deserve any happiness? When she read Pooja's editorial piece on that magazine she nearly barked with laughter. It was a poorly written article by a spoiled, pampered girl who didn't know the first thing about loss. She thought she could summon her dead aunt's ghost through her words, and break Mary but clearly, the stupid girl, didn't know her very well.

And while she didn't have Tudor blood running through her veins, she had Jedi blood and as much as she despised her father, it proved useful and it was a testament of what -and who- she was. A woman without mercy, who didn't break or bow, and who'd certainly wouldn't shed one tear before her enemies.

The tide is against me and like my grandmother before me, I will use their weapons against me to turn the tide in my favor, and those who hurt me will know the name of Mary, and the woman behind it. She picked up an old miniature she had on her drawer of her mother and her when she was fourteen. _If I can't have their love, then they will fear me._ Her mother was renowned for her charity -her words were like honey in contrast to hers. When they compared the two, they could hardly believe that she came from Catherine's womb.

She dropped the miniature and stepped on it. After she picked up the pieces and threw them to the fire, watching them burn slowly, the pain from the leftover shard glass on her hands, didn't bother her anymore.

* * *

 _"Walking waiting alone without a care_  
hoping and hating the things that I can't bear  
did you think it's cool  
to walk over me and take my life  
and fuck it up?  
Well did you?

_I see hell in your eyes, taken in by surprise_   
_Touching you makes me feel alive_   
_Touching you makes me die inside_

_Walking, waiting alone without a care_   
_hoping and hating the things that I can't bear_   
_did you think it's cool to walk right up to me_   
_to take my life and fuck it up?_   
_Well did you?_   
_I hate you!_

_I see hell in your eyes taken in by surprise_  
and touching you makes me feel alive  
Touching you makes me die inside  
I've slept so long without you  
it's tearing me apart too  
how'd it get this far  
playing games with this old heart?  
I've killed a million petty souls  
But I couldn't kill you  
I've slept so long without you.

 _Touching makes me die inside_  
I see hell in your eyes  
Touching you makes me die inside you  
Taken in by surprise  
Touching you makes me die inside  
Touching you makes me feel alive  
I see hell in your eyes  
Taken in by surprise  
And touching you makes me feel alive  
Touching you makes me die inside  
And touching you makes me die inside."  
~Slept so long, Queen of the Damned Soundtrack

_Anyone who isn't us is an enemy._   
_~Cersei Lannister_

Leia called on her best friend. She had something glorious to show her. "Now what?" She asked, frustration could be heard from a mile away. Marion didn't like being in charging of playing nanny to the former queens' offspring. Well, that is an outright lie. She could bear Catherine of Aragon. She was a dignified lady with a strong character, but the others were too moody and broody for her liking.

"Look." She pointed to the moving circular thing that showed the illusion of shapes moving. "This is what you brought me all the way from hell's corner to? An ancient device?" Marion asked, her eyes showing how bored she was.

"Look." Leia insisted. "You're not looking, you have to stop looking until it stops. Let me spin it again. Hand me that candle."

Marion sighed. What a waste of time. She changed her mind once she saw a strange shape appear above the girl's head. "It can't be. Is that a …" She didn't get to finish her answer as the images disappeared and she turned to Leia who nodded, giving her a wide smile. "Where did you get this from?"

"If I tell you, you must keep it a secret, including from Doreah. I know how close you two are."

"You have my word."

"Earth, before Lady Mary, now known as the Eighth Sister, killed some of our best agents, they recovered this from the High Temple of Volantis. It was blessed by the High Priestess Kinvara herself."

"No way. This is … amazing. I wish we could have her with us, she could really teach us a thing or two about her magic." Gods knew they could use her knowledge right now against the rogue priestess, Melisandre.

"It wouldn't work." Leia said, killing Marion's hopes. "Melisandre is firmly convinced that Jon Snow is the chosen one and that Vader is part of an even greater destiny and with the media buzzing with the latest news of Mary Tudor being the bastard daughter of Obi Wan Kenobi and Catherine it won't be long before more people flock to her."

"Not the Academies. They've always supported our cause."

"Maybe, but you know what they think of the Jedi." Leia pointed out.

"It seems unfair." Marion shook her head sadly, reminiscing about what her grandmothers told her about the golden age of Westeros, the age of heroes, and the times when magic and steel co-existed in perfect harmony. "They won, and they still want to destroy our past."

"He who controls the past, controls the future. Father's first lesson. He was on his way to the Senate when he saw the Jedi Temple in flames. The Clone Soldiers threatened to shoot him if he tried to help any of them. A boy, no older than Queen Jane's niece, fought them and they shot at him. My father tried to spread the word but no one listened to him, and after his friend, he swore to her that he and Mon Mothma would carry out her final wishes. Now that my father is gone and only Mon Mothma remains, it is up to us."

"We've lost so much Leia, sometimes I … I think what if it is all for naught? I am sounding too much like my mother right now but I can't help but think like this every time I have to draft a letter or meet with the parents of the children we sent away on missions."

"They knew what they've signed up for. This is larger than any of us." Leia said filled with the same conviction she felt as when she was fifteen and she volunteered for her first solo mission. "Don't quit on me now. I can't do this without you."

She was not sure that was true. She remembered Darth Vader's words. It was Leia who they flocked to, she was merely her secretary, her bodyguard, nothing more. But hearing the emotion in Leia's voice, somewhat convinced her.

* * *

Kyra walked the hallways of the Rebel base. She was tired, another mission and another session of training with Obi Wan Kenobi and Catherine. She was beat. She and Luke excelled at everything, but the former somehow focused all of his efforts on her more. And don't get her started with Catherine. Ever since her successors had arrived on the base, it had been pure chaos. It was like war of the queens, except with staring.

She stayed out of it for the most part, but there was one occasion where she had to intervene. Jane's daughter asked Catherine to sign her favorite book. It was The Education of a Christian Princess. An old withered copy she had inherited from her mother that was written by some Christian writer who'd dedicated it to Catherine. Naturally, she wanted her autograph. But Jane said no.

Kyra asked her what was the big deal. It was just one book but Jane didn't like the tone of her voice and told her this was something that didn't concern her. That somehow made Catherine equally angry as Jane, and that is when the fight started. Kyra tried to be the peacemaker but both women were going at it full throttle, and it got even worse when Anne Boleyn and her daughter, lady Elizabeth, came over and (shockingly) sided with Jane.

Weird shit. Earth people -and especially royals- were very weird. She put on her helmet and turned on her lightsaber, the flying balls shot at her and she evaded all of them. It was pretty easy, but she kept going because the logs would show Obi Wan if she'd been here or not, and she wasn't good when it came to lying to the former Jedi Master and his lover.

"Still practicing?" She took off her helmet. He laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"You look terrible." He said, Kyra gave him the finger. "You're terrible Luke. I don't get why I have to do this, I am already good at this and I have been flying solo missions for the past ten months. You should hear what General Riekan said of me." She said with a wink.

Luke rolled his eyes. His sister was going to be the death of him someday. Ever since she started flying on her own, she became more audacious, and she wasn't ashamed of flirting with the top officials she considered cute. "One of these days sister, that is going to come and bite you in the ass."

"Like I haven't seen how you look at Leia." Luke pushed her. "Aww, you love her, admit it." She said winking at him again. He rolled his eyes. "Don't start."

"You know I am not the jealous type. She is okay, but if you are looking to be her boyfriend, you are in bad luck. She has the hots for Han."

"Of course she doesn't. Han is …"

"Charming, cocky, roguish, excellent fighter pilot? Everything you are not?"

"I am a good fighter pilot."

"But you are not charming, cocky and roguish." Luke scowled.

"Sorry to break it to you Luke but women fall for opposites. Take me for example, I find you cute and charming but that is because I have been around rough necks for too long, I yearn for somebody sweet and boyish but someone like Leia who's been around stiffs all her life, she's going to sleep with the first rogue she sees and that my friend is Han. And it doesn't help you that Han has a great backstory behind him. Orphan boy gets rescued by his asshole father, runs away, joins the Imperial Academy, leaves and saves his Wookie friend and wins his ship in a game of card. He is a rebel and you … you are not."

"I am a rebel." Luke said, deeply serious now. "I am as much good as anyone here."

"Don't get too cocky Luke, it is not you brother. Take what you can and be happy. Look around, people think you are a hero. You and me, the Sun Twins. Let's keep it like that." She said, kissing his cheek and going back to her room.

Luke watched her go. Sun Twins, she'd said. The media was good at spinning things, and in their case, the Rebel media had done an even better job, propagating their story as two orphans whose father had been a great Jedi knight, fighting for truth and justice and who had been unjustly murdered by the Emperor and his henchmen, Lord Vader. The people they fought for saw them as saviors and a cult started forming around them with old religions springing back to life. On Earth, the worshippers of the old gods gained a greater following than in any other planet. They were the twin suns of Tatooine, the ones who were promised. They were the light.  
Changing his mind, he turned and followed her to her room.

* * *

**That is all for now**


	14. Life is not fair, get used to it

_"The curtain's closed  
no way home, the natural way ran dry_   
_these tainted words made to hurt_   
_caress me with its knives_   
_eating my mind_   
_within each bite I am begging please Lord no."_   
**~Love songs (they kill me) by Cinema Bizarre**

_"Do not look for perfection in him or in yourself."  
_ **~The Crown teaser trailer (2016)**

"What do you do when you are fighting an enemy that can't be bought?" Henry had once asked her, as a means of testing her before he sold her off to the highest bidder.

"You teach him a lesson. Strip him of what he loves the most, his money and-" He interrupted her. "No, that's not it." He said then proceeded to show her the map of where he had attacked the rebels. "When you are fighting someone whose cause is greater than yours, you can't use the usual tactics. You have to take out the weeds or replace an idea with another idea, otherwise you will be fighting a losing battle."

"And how do we take out the weeds?" Mary was afraid to ask but she had to ask to confirm the extent of her father's cruelty. And she wasn't disappointed, her father told her how he'd tortured the leaders and she could sense by his body language and the tone in his voice that he had no qualms about it.

Throughout her life, Mary wished she could be like him, so he could finally tell her that he loved her. Not just say it, but actually mean it. When she learned the truth about her parentage, her world came crumbling down but after she found Arthur, she saw another chance to prove her late father wrong. She got to be trained by one of the Emperor's greatest assassins besides Lord Vader and got the role of Inquisitor, hunting down whatever Jedi she could find, while also being the public face of the Empire for their PR campaign on Earth and other uncivilized planets.

Her home planet wasn't receptive to the gifts they brought. As with the rebels in her father's time, the rebels in her time, had a good story. Heretic, blasphemer, traitor, whore and foreign invader. And as long as you had that idea stuck in their heads, it was going to be near impossible to take it out. So she used the best tools at her disposal: assimilation. If you can't beat them, let them join you. She wasn't a fan of this, but it had worked on other planets. But Earth proved to be different once again. Under the banner of freedom, they used guerrilla tactics to take out the Stormtroopers stationed at the bases in the major cities.  
Mary wasn't powerful in the Force as Vader and Palpatine was, but she had enough knowledge to aid her in their destruction. It wasn't easy, but she had done it.

No medals, or honors were given to her. It was a dishonorable task, and the Emperor knew it. Yet, as with the other Inquisitors she had been a necessary evil.

And after years of serving the Emperor, she got used to the non-thanks and the other perks her job entailed, but she couldn't get used to this. Those lands had been given to her as a silent reward for her work, breaking the strongest of the Rebel leaders on Earth. They were also part of her legacy, the last link she had to the English crown.

She and Arthur argued endlessly about it but to no avail. Arthur didn't want to hear any more of her complaints. The lands were his now, and it was better this way. She would have just ruined them the way his brother did.

Passing through the halls of the new star destroyer, he overheard some of the new corporals, voice their concern over the new threat. "The twin suns" they called them. They were the latest thing in the holo news, and everyone, including the Academies, were taking them seriously.  
"If they can blow up the death star, imagine what they will do to one puny star destroyer?" One of them said.

"Don't be stupid." One of the women in the group, said. "They would never be able to destroy the Empire, that thing was a glitch in the system. The Empire can make up for it building another massive weapon."

"You'd think so, but the Empire's power relied on people fearing us, what happens when they stop?" He asked.

After a long discussion, another one, said. "You are wasting your time. The Sun Twins are not going to make any difference to what the Emperor has planned for the rebels, they will fall just like their predecessors."  
"How can you be so sure?" One of them asked. Arthur could hear her smile through her next words: "Because they have no cause. Even if they do manage to score another major victory and gain more followers, those followers will have different agendas from their own and they will start asking questions 'what happens after this?' 'who rules?'. They will destroy themselves, trust me."

Arthur would have commended that officer if he could. She was right. They were a snake that would eat its own tale after all of this was over. After Vader revealed the truth to the Sun Twins, the Rebel Alliance's propaganda machine would fall, and millions of their followers would go back to what they know best, being professional complainers and living off the glory of the oppressive system they fought.

They know nothing. Arthur thought as he sat down in his chair and closed the door to his office. Very few people were allowed entrance, including Mary. If she ever came here, she would flip. Next to him was a portrait of Catherine -after she became a widow. He had it remastered. It was one of the very few things that he managed to recover from the wreckage before the Empire unleashed its firepower on the royal landmarks.

It was like staring back at the real Catherine, he was almost swallowed whole when he looked into her eyes and remembered their first meeting.

_"This is my son, your future husband. Arthur! Come here and meet your future Queen." His father called. Arthur's heart swelled with pride when his father called Infanta Catalina his future queen. It was no secret that his father had become very ill and things between him and his mother weren't all that great.  
He swore to God that when he married this Princess, he would treat her like the queen she was born to be. He would love and cherish her like she was the most precious thing on earth._

_"Hi…" He said slowly then heaved up his chest, and said in a deeper voice. "Greetings, it is a pleasure to finally meet you, Your Highness."_

_"And you, my future husband." She said. There was an air of dignity that she possessed, that he had witnessed on no one, not even his lady grandmother who was prouder than most. When his father asked her Duena to lift her veil, her Duena refused but the Infanta lift up her hand and turned to her, and said that it was alright and lifted the veil off her face._

_Arthur was taken aback by what he saw. She wasn't a hag like he thought when they exchanged letters. Someone who was so authoritative and yet so chaste, could only be because she was ugly. Otherwise, why didn't her parents send her to England sooner?_

_He was happy to know he was wrong. She gave him a timid smile and lowered her head, though he could see it in her eyes before she cast them down as well, that there was wickedness in her._

His heart beat faster every time he saw her after that. She was every Prince's dream come true, and instead of being the gentleman, he broke his promise on the very first day after their wedding night, telling everyone how he'd spent the night in Spain, and his wife was the loudest woman he'd ever been.

He reduced her to the position of a common whore, and spoke about things he heard from his best friends, so he could impress them with his sexual prowess. But the worst part of this, was that none of it was true. Every time the two slept together and would try to make love, he'd get scared. He didn't want to break her. He was afraid to. His mother had many miscarriages and his father still spoke about getting her pregnant. How could someone who claimed to love someone so much treat the woman he loved like that? He wanted to be different. But his Catalina was getting impatient and one day she told him that if she couldn't get him to seed in her then she would look elsewhere and suggested his brother.

A lie of course. Henry was only a child. A precocious one, but a child nonetheless. But Catalina's words stung him and the night before he became ill, they managed to consummate their marriage.

She was so happy and so was he. He hadn't broke her as he feared and the experience was unlike anything he had ever felt. It didn't dawn on him that she could have been thinking about that Jedi the entire time. Obi Wan Kenobi was merely a twelve year old apprentice when he came on one of his first missions with his master, Qui Gon, to Earth. They were among the many people present in St. Paul when they said their vows. He had seen a passing look between him and Catalina but he dismissed at the time.

When his soul was brought back and put into his genetically modified cloned body, he was angry to find that Catherine had had a daughter with that Jedi. The Emperor told him he would help him get Catherine back after the Jedi took him from her -yet again- if he did his dirty work and he accepted. He was no fool, he knew what that man was and what he wanted, but if the end result brought him Catherine then so be it.  
The two were meant to be together and nothing was going to stand in their way any longer.

_To think that I exchanged her for cheap bronze._

* * *

Anne didn't like the way Leia conducted herself on the rebel base. She thought that because she had the title of Princess that everyone should bow their heads down to her. Foolish girl. She had met many royals like her in her time at the Archduchess' court, and in France, and England. They were all alike.

She turned the page of the book she was reading. She momentarily looked up and saw Marion Tyrell. Another would-be. "You shouldn't be spying on them mother." Bess said, putting her own book down. Anne said nothing and returned her attention to her book. Bess sighed. "They're not that terrible, you know. Marion is nice."

Anne snorted. "Marion is Princess Leia Organa's closest friend, and the two were trained to see the world in black and white by no one better than Cersei Lannister."

"Cersei didn't counsel Leia."

"She counseled Marion and Marion is closest to Leia so her legacy lives on through those two." Anne said, turning the page yet again.

"You want to be their friend, don't you?" Anne asked after a long pause ensued.

"I wouldn't mind."

Anne smirked. "Trust me, you'd be better off in the company of swamp rats than those two. They only care about themselves. They don't care about the rebels, about you or me, it is just them."

"They lost their planet and everyone they loved, I say they care about more than just their reputation."

"Bess, you haven't learned anything, so I pray you now hear me and hear me well when I say this: They are not in it for deep felt altruism, nobody in the high ranks is. Before the Empire, they could do everything they wanted and nobody said a thing, now that the Emperor is in power, they're suddenly in touch with their conscience. It's a scam, once they are back in power, things will go back to being the way they were."

"I don't think so. They have hope."

"Of course they do. Otherwise they wouldn't be risking their lives and precious fortunes." Anne said, turning the page yet again.

Bess lost count how many times she'd done it. Is she really reading or is this another one of her moods?

"Princess Leia seems honest to me."

"She is a politician dear, and a Princess, she will say whatever the people want to hear to get their support."

"I am a Princess too."

Her mother stilled, then composed herself. "That is different." She said, her voice calm but her expression hardened as she put her book down (at last) and faced her daughter. "You are not in a position of power anymore. Earth, despite what the rebels there insist on saying, will never be the planet it once was." _And maybe it is for the best_ , Anne also wanted to say, but dared not. "The galaxy is cruel and cold, and it will be like that even if the Alliance wins. The Emperor knows it, and that is why he is using every resource available, because if he can't rule then nobody will. You think the rebels fight for peace and justice? You think that they will truly accept the new order once the Empire is defeated? They will squabble amongst themselves just like before and just like before, one among many will rise up to power, promising them everything they could ever wish for. It won't matter if it's true or not, they will swallow it and before you know it, we have another enemy to contend with."

Anne picked up her book again and resumed her reading. "It never ends." One enemy today, another one tomorrow. What different does it make? Elizabeth will probably think I am just a bitter old woman who doesn't appreciate the beauty of life like she does.

But Elizabeth said nothing. She gave her mother a sad smile, and a kiss before she departed to her quarters.

Anne didn't follow her. She'd grown tired of watching her daughter talking to these people, and smiling like everything was going to be alright. _Let her find out on her own, let her be hurt_ \- she thought- _then she will know what the true meaning of life is._

_You were like her once_ … Yes, once. A long time ago.

* * *

Vader dug his heels into the sand to get his way. Slavery had been abolished from the outer rim, including in the other sectors of the galaxy such as Earth. After tens of thousands of years of tradition, the institution was gone. It was a day of celebration yet the Academies ran their headline 'you can't buy freedom when we are all at the mercy of the Empire.

These people lack imagination, he thought when he saw them picketing outside the slave markets of Tatooine.

What will happen now? They shouted. Will you give them the livelihood they deserve? Of course he would, but he didn't need to shout it to the four winds. Unlike their professors, he didn't profess to know better, or show off his kindness in front of others. His kindness was his own to keep; those who laid it out for everyone to see was because they wanted self-gratification.

Nobody does what they do out of selflessness. The last man who did had -according to the Christian tradition- been betrayed by his closest friend.

Selflessness was not natural and neither was martyrdom. It was all pure selfishness, the only difference was that he was smart enough to admit that he did the things he did out of ambition.

Beware of the martyrs. The Emperor was wise in not striking them. Vader would have and he would've felt little regret in doing so. They were youths. Still in their teens. They had seen very little of the world. Their perception would change if they saw firsthand the horrors of slavery -as he had- and what the masters did to the mothers who refused to part from their children.

_He was just three years old. At least he thought he was. He held his hand up and drew three fingers. "Three" he said in broken basic. Then he attempted to speak in the tongue they called French. An earth tongue. Gardulla the Hutt, said they could be sold to an Earth master. Anakin was excited, although he had little knowledge of what being sold meant. He just saw his mother's face which paled visibly when Gardulla pondered aloud, the female Hutt's muscles tensing as the slave trader pressed her for an answer. Should she sell these new slaves? Finally she shook her head and told him she'd keep them._

_"Thank the gods." Shmni said. Anakin cocked his head. "Mommy, sad?" Shmni shook her head and told her it was the opposite. Her tears were tears of joy._

Vader was too stupid to understand. But he caught on pretty quickly. That night everyone was woken up. One of the slave mothers had attempted to escape and runaway with her daughter. He saw as they were brought before their owner. The Hutt was visibly angry and asked her son and heir, Jabba, what the punishment should be?

_Since they had no chips installed on them yet, he reasoned they should be fed to the rancor which Jabba had just bought from one of the new traders._

_Anakin watched in horror as mother and child were eaten. Blood oozing from its fangs, it raised its eyes upward and they locked straight with his. Anakin hid behind his mother's dress._

That was the first time that Vader learned what it was to be a slave. To be owned.

_And you are still owned._

* * *

She closed her eyes. "One more time." She told her lover. "No, Marion, I can't."

"One more." She insisted. Doreah complied. Marion threw her head back. Gods be praised! She cried out in ecstasy as the two simultaneously came.

"That's enough." Doreah declared releasing her. Her back was pressed hard against the bed. Marion wasn't done with her yet. She mounted her and pressed her lips against hers. Doreah responded to the kiss and wrapped her legs around her waist. For the remainder of the day, they remained like this, locked in an embrace, battling each other for dominance.

When they were finally done, their legs were sore, their entire bodies ached, and were completely out of breath.

"You are too much." Doreah said. Marion laughed weakly. "I am serious. You are an animal."

"That's something coming from the daughter of the legendary viper. Oh Gods, that was so good!" She cried touching the space between her legs. She wanted Doreah in her, with her again. But Doreah was exhausted, completely depleted.

"Bitch. If your friend only knew how good you fuck-"

"Don't be saying that out loud." Marion said, closing her eyes. Leia always had a way of knowing what people thought. "It's a gift" she told her, but it reeked of force sensitivity. Some in the base said Marion was the one with that power, but these were usually ignorant people with no basic education save what they learned from their hick folks back home.

"Why not? It's the truth. You could teach Leia a thing or two. Poor thing needs to get laid fast."

"You judge her too harshly." Everyone does. "Leia does what she wants with who she wants. She's never let anyone seed in her. There's too much at risk, and raising a child in this environment would not be good."

"My grandmother was Princess of Dorne in her own right, raised three of her kids. They turned out fine. I turned out fine."

"Keep telling yourself that Dori." Doreah shot her a dirty look then grinned.

"You're just jealous. I am not afraid of speaking my mind in front of all these stiffs you hang out with, while you are still big on appearances."

"I have to be. I am Leia's best friend. Since the assault on that Star Destroyer which I barely made it out alive, everyone looks up to me."

"And they should. You are a natural born leader. It's funny isn't it? My father used to say that my grandmother had conspired with Joanna Lannister, the lady of Casterly Rock, to marry him to Cersei. If the two hand't died, they probably would have but instead its their descendants who get to live off their dream match." Doreah said passing her hand through Marion's cheek. "Let's get married. We can keep it a secret. After we defeat the empire, we can tell the whole world."

"It wouldn't work. There's always been too much bad blood between both our families and the Empire would find out. They always would, and they would use you as a target to get to me."

"So? We both knew what we were getting into when we signed up for this. And I am Oberyn's daughter, I am not going to let them take me without taking some of them first."

She spoke with such confidence that Marion couldn't help but be envious. She was right, Marion was jealous. Doreah was not afraid of showing who she truly was and speaking her mind, even when that got her in trouble. She was not raised to be a princess or a diplomat. She was born into the life of a warrior and as such, she could be as blunt as she wanted to be.

**_We are who we are_** -her mother said. But for a minute she wished she was someone else, free to live her life the way she wanted.

"Come on, let's do it. No more pretenses. Let's show the Empire that we aren't afraid to live life." Doreah said and the passion from her voice, convinced Marion as well as the kiss she gave her.


	15. Fair is Foul and Foul is Fair

“Fair is foul and foul is fair.”  
~Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Jane and Anne could not keep doing these to themselves any longer. Their cold treatment was weighing down on Thomas, Han and their daughters.

The two decided to put their differences aside and start anew. After everyone had deserted the mess hall, the two women sat down, facing each other like in old times when they served Queen Catherine.

The loss of a child is no parent should have to bear. The loss of an heir is even worse. Jane remembered her beautiful son Edward. She told Anne that she intended on making Mary and Elizabeth legitimate after the King invested him with the Principality of Wales.

Anne cocked her head sideways, raising an eyebrow as the woman continued with her tale. It wasn’t until she talked about the Imperial troops turning on them, that she finally felt sympathy for Jane.

“I fled through the secret corridor Anakin Skywalker had built for us during the clone wars. He didn’t know we were inside the castle. Henry tried to run as well but something spoke to him -or so he claimed. My husband wasn’t making any sense. He just kept saying ‘they are coming’ over and over again. ‘You must go’ He told me. ‘They are coming.’ ‘I know’ I said and grabbed his hand but he pushed me away. ‘Take Cassandra, Catherine and Elizabeth. They will need them.’ That is the last I heard of him.” Jane wiped a tear from her eye. “I wanted to go back and search for Edward but Obi Wan and Thomas told me there was nothing but ash. Hampton Court Palace, the eighth wonder of England was nothing but a pile of rubble.”

“I am sorry.” Anne said. “When I was in the Tower, I wished you nothing but death. I told Henry that nothing good would come out of your union.” She confessed, regretting her words after what Jane had told  her. “What do you suppose Henry told you by ‘they are coming?’”

“I don’t know.” Jane shrugged. “It is in the past now. My husband … Our husband was a lunatic. That much the Catholics and the Protestants got right. He would wake me up at night and tell me everyone is burning, we must save ourselves from the heat. I thought it must be the heat. England had never experienced a hot summer like the one we got in ’36 but after Sidious declared himself Chancellor, I began thinking it could be something else.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. Visions, the three eyed raven, the Sith. I replayed that scene with Thomas when we were in Corellia but I always ended up with a headache.”

“The three eyed raven was destroyed but before she died, Arya Stark said that her brother could visit the past and the future.”

Jane narrowed her eyes. “Do you think it possible he foresaw the destruction of Alderaan and tried to warn Henry? But why?”

“Maybe he thought he could reach Mary through Henry. Maybe he hadn’t seen what Mary had become and thought that she could reach Anakin. Maybe he did and wanted to stop all of this happening. Or maybe he was desperate and trying to reach everyone before he died.”

“It wouldn’t make sense. It has to be something else.” Jane said. She turned to her nephew who laughed at a joke the Princess Leia made. “If only he had gone to Han as well.”

Anne chuckled. She could relate to Han’s infatuation with someone higher than him. She told Jane to take it easy. They were young once and just as hopeful as he was.

“We didn’t risk our families or put them at the mercy of intergalactic empires because of a dalliance.”

“No? Our union is something the Empire is now using to gain more momentum in the Core worlds where we were beginning to gain some ground thanks to the Sun Twins.”

“It’s not the same and you know it. Han will only get hurt the same we were.”

“Better he gets now than when he is married.” Anne pointed out. They turned again to Han’s direction who laughed higher when he said something inappropriate which made the Princess’ laughter die down.

“You are insufferable Solo!” She said and left with a huff. Han’s laughter grew but died down as well when he realized the only two people in the cafeteria were his aunt and the lady Anne.

“Ladies. Well, can’t blame a guy for trying.” He said and gave them his best cocky smile and left.

“She is right, though.” Anne said.

“What?”

“He is insufferable.” She told Jane and Jane had to agree with her former rival. When it came to women, Han was every bit of arrogant as his father had been.

“He is too much like Thomas and my father for his own good.”

“He will grow out of it.” Anne said, doing her best to keep her tone neutral so Jane wouldn’t see her concern.  
At first Anne thought it was innocent flirtation or at best a show to prove to the rebel base that he was better than the rest of them because he bedded the Princess. But now that he had seen the lingering looks, the endless tirades, she knew it was serious.

 _I won’t mention it to Jane but they remind me more of Henry and I._ She had pointed out his flaws and he had yelled then said something inappropriate to turn the tables on her and when that didn’t work, he flashed a cocky grin. _Now this idiot is doing it too. Isn’t he aware that this Princess is NEVER going to fall for someone like him?_

To royals, outspoken commoners like Anne and Han, were something amusing because they weren’t used to being challenged. Once they grew tired of them, they forgot all about them.

**~o~**

Elizabeth played chess with Mary Stuart. Mary was one of the few royals they had found with the sisters of mercy in the outer rim. To the great irony of everyone she had been hidden in Tatooine. On the other side of the planet where Luke and Jane Kyra were. After Luke and Kyra had been given a guide to the sisterhood’s temple, where they were promised a secret map to one of the Imperial bases on earth, the High Priestess revealed Mary.

Elizabeth was there. Her mother had been against it. She didn’t want her daughter risking her life for a cause she didn’t believe in; but Elizabeth didn’t care. Her mother was with the Rebellion because she wanted revenge, Bess fought because she believed in its cause. And because she wanted it to be known that the Tudor dynasty was not extinguished and like her grandfather, the first Henry Tudor, she wasn’t going to be intimidated.

The High Priestess told them that Mary had been handed over by her mother and future mother-in-law, Catherine de Medici. Before Earth had been taken over by the Empire, Mary of Guise struck a deal with the remaining Jedi to arrange for her daughter and the Valois’ escape.

Bess was shocked to hear that more Jedi had escaped the purge. _“It is true my lady. The Jedi are not so crafty as they think but those that were lucky to be on Earth, were quickly contacted by Master Kenobi and Master Yoda. They arranged for safe passage to the outer rim.”_ The High Priestess explained to them, touching Mary Stuart’s red hair. The girl was like a miniature Bess, except she looked livelier and seemed little affected by the struggle. _“It wasn’t easy let me tell you. Her mother said ‘my daughter will never go to some heretic’s palace.’ But after much convincing from your guardian, Ben Kenobi, she agreed.”_

Luke and Jane were shocked. Their mentor had never told them about this, much less his lover, Catherine of Aragon. They had a long chat with them after they completed their mission and brought Mary to Hoth. Obi Wan and Catherine explained that they didn’t expect Mary would survive this long. In their experience, pampered royals like Mary, didn’t. They didn’t even expect the girl would remember the Chateau after all this time.  
Mary told them all about the hidden passageways and bases Francis I had installed with the help of the old republic during the clone wars. Those bases were now Imperial forts and the main Chateau had been turned into an Imperial base.  
Although she was only a teenager, she wasn’t afraid to speak to a group of rough necks who had a very low opinion of her.

She and Bess quickly became friends. Her mother approved of their friendship and like her two predecessors, took her under her wing.

Although the two got along very well, there was one thing they disagreed on: Marriage. Bess believed in marrying for love while Mary was all about duty. She always tried to convince Mary to give up her dreams of being this Queen in the North. Earth was no more. Royal families were no more. The age of kings and queens was past. If the Rebellion won, it could give Bess and Mary the chance to make something of themselves, but Mary wouldn’t hear it. It was a crown or nothing. And today was one of such days where their arguments were only getting worse as they went for another round.

“If we don’t have a crown, what use are we? Our parents would have killed to keep the Tudor and Stuart dynasty alive.” Mary said, moving her black queen forward, successfully escaping Bess’ tower. “Look at Queen Isabella. Mary Tudor’s warrior nun. She would have never been hailed as the great warrior for her faith if she became a nun. So she became a warrior nun.” Bess nodded, finding Mary’s logic funny but accurate. “When they find where Catherine and the remaining Valois are hiding I will marry Francois and I will become a Queen.”

“Or a dead woman.” Bess pointed out. Mary blinked, looking at her in confusion. “Don’t think I haven’t heard the rumors that she poisoned half the people at that banquet.”

“She did it out of survival. The Imperials were going to kill her and her family.”

“That doesn’t justify the way she did it.”

“Would you have preferred over a battlefield? How many more soldiers have to die when you can settle it over a quick and easy dinner? It is how nobles settled it with one of my ancestor a century ago.” Mary Stuart said, moving her pawn diagonally, eating Bess’ knight.

Bess admitted to herself Mary had a point. But it still doesn’t make it right. She moved her pawn diagonally, eating Mary’s bishop. “All I am saying is that if you want to kill someone, just do it. Why so much fancy dinners and showing to the world how horrible you are? It just turns your enemies into victims.”

“That is not the point Bess. If someone wrongs you, you kill them. Subjects must vow before kings and queens, otherwise they will betray you.”

“But that is my point Mary. They were not her subjects. She could have handed them over to the Rebellion or made an example of them in public, revealing their atrocities.”

“Like a show?” Mary said with a sly smile.

“Not like a show. Like a trial. People would have cheered for her then and you can bet our royal asses, everyone would have turn their backs on the Empire.”

Mary Stuart chuckled, in spite of just having lost to Bess as she ate her queen and cornered her king. “You are funny cousin. Maybe one day you can be a great general or a Senator and make things different. I can totally see you as Chancellor.”

“That’s a long stretch. No one from Earth has ever held that position.”

“Never say never. A Welsh man never got to be King of England … Oh! I just remembered! He did.” Mary said, giving her another amusing smile.

“If you say so cos. Though if I were Senator you would be my fellow Senator.”

“You mean Princess.” Mary said.

“No. Senator. It would be Senator Elizabeth of the House of Tudor and Senator Mary of the House of Stuart. The last two remaining royals and rebel heroes.”

“I like the sound of that.”

The two young women saw their future selves seated next to each other, ruling on behalf of their Earth constituents, while also being praised by their fellow Senators.

* * *

 

It was a vision that only two of them could have. Or so they thought. Because on the other side of the galaxy, Sansa was in bed, worrying about her daughter.

She was not the stupid little girl who dreamed of princesses and southern knights. She was a mother and like any mother she feared for her daughter’s safety.

If only Ned had been born a girl and Lya a boy. What a fine lady and warrior the two would have made. Ned was not like his namesake. He was honorable but not a fault. He dated men and women but he never took any of them by force like his grand-uncle Brandon. He didn’t have to. Ned -bless his heart- was handsome and he treated people in such a way that made them thankful for what little they had left.

“Truly I don’t deserve a son like him.” Her husband said after he turned fifteen. Ned was everything that Jon had once been, and having him grow in an environment like this, broke his heart.  
  
If he could, Ned could kill everyone in his platoon. He was that good of a warrior but unlike most, he hated fighting.

Cersei had once told her the Gods were cruel, that was why they were gods. But she didn’t think they’d be this cruel. _If I want to ensure the continuation of this family, I must harden my son._

She wrote to Jon and told him to take Ned under his wing. Jon didn’t send a reply. He didn’t have to. She saw on the holo news, their son was standing next to him. 

Jon was announcing the reconstruction of an Imperial base that had been taken from the Rebels. "The Rebels have been justly slayed and peace has been restored. Those who have been found guilty of sedition and harboring rebels, will not be judged if they come clean."

Come clean! Sansa snorted. Did Jon really believe that they'd be stupid enough to go the Empire and spill the Rebel Alliance's secrets?

"If however, you still insist on fighting on the side of the rebels, you will be arrested. Your possessions will be taken from you and become the property of the Empire. Your family will also face criminal charges."

This caused the crowd to murmur. Several stood up and left, while others shouted. _The Emperor has gone too far._ Most of the rich kids who joined the Rebel Alliance did so because they knew that if they were caught, their inheritance would pass down to the next of kin. Now, their families would join the rebellion as well, pouring whatever assets they had left so the Rebels could buy guns and other ammunition.

 _Fools. We are at the mercy of foolish men. Would that if I could have a Rickard Stark, or a Holster Tully by my side._ Or someone like Jon's grandfather. Aerys II was a mad man but when he wanted something, he didn't stop and think like the rest who followed him. He'd do it!

The Gods did her species a great disservice making men the ruling agents of their destiny. Women should have been the ones that were created first. The ones who wear the Imperial crown, the triple crown and all other crowns that are in this wretched universe.

If Sansa were the Emperor, she would hang all these Rebels and tempt the remaining fighters with promise of gold and justice. That is how you win. Not by using the sword, but by showing them mercy. Mercy that the Rebels will not show us if they win.

Sansa was no fool. In spite of what Cersei and Lady Olenna always said about her, she knew the type of game that was being played in King's Landing. When she married Jon, she wasn't marrying him because he was handsome, or because there was familiarity between them. She married him because he was the new Lord of the conquered sectors of Earth and the Grand Moff of the new Empire, and together they'd be one of the most powerful couples in the galaxy.

And now thanks to His Highness, the Emperor, everything we have worked for, will be gone.

The next image the holo news showed was of Ned with his sister Lya. Sweet, tough Lyanna. When she was born she could see her sister Arya in her. Jon loved her because she was the living reminder of his mother and favorite cousin. He played with her, indulged her and took her on dangerous missions.

 _"One day you will become a warrior like your aunt."_ Sansa disapproved. Lya didn't take after the Tullys as she and her mother would've wanted, but they loved her nonetheless. Jon reassured her that she would be fine. He and Lya always came back, and every time they did, their stories got bolder and bolder, garnering the attention of their guests, including the Lady Mary and Lord Tudor's son, Owen who declared himself her slave.

 _"Young love._ " Mary had told Sansa with a sigh, adding that her son was an accomplished gentleman that would make any wife happy. She encouraged their children's relationship and went behind her husband's back, offering a proposal of marriage to Jon. She is lucky to be treated the way she is by her lover. Nobody treated Sansa with respect, so when he finally learned that Arthur had put her in her place and taken her lands and given them to Sansa, she was happy.

He is a fool as well. If Arthur were truly smart, he would have sent Mary to a detention cell for withholding valuable information from the Emperor. That is what she would do if she found her spouse lying to her master. But I am not a man, I am a lady of a powerful house who must keep her mouth shut and clean after her husband's messes.

Focusing her eyes on Ned and Lya again, she smiled a small smile. They don't know how fortunate they are to have parents who love them. Who will go to the farthest reaches of the galaxy to keep them safe.

Lya might be rebellious but when she dressed like a lady, she looked every bit of royal as the Rebels' sweetheart, the Princess Leia and her aide, Marion Tyrell. She might be Stark on the outside but she always be a Tully to me.

Lady Stoneheart entered the room. There was no smile on her face. She remained expressionless as the news went on, praising Lord Targaryen and his son, for their bravery against the evil Rebels.

"You should betroth Lyanna to Brendol Hux."

"Should? That is a funny way of putting it. Three months ago you said that Hux was a savage. He is too old for her and Lyanna has her heart set on Owen anyway."

Lady Stoneheart scowled when she heard her mention Mary's son. "He is so far beneath her. An alliance with Hux would guarantee our survival. The Empire will not last long, Melisandre has seen it in her flames. When the Emperor falls, they will come looking for us and they will hang us. But if we should ally ourselves with Hux, then we would have nothing to fear."

"And where would we go? The outer rim? Where the Hutts are? Or worse yet, Jakku? I have lived in hiding, I am not going to subject my children to that life."

"Would you rather they mop the tiles of the Rebels' palace or worse yet, bow their heads like perfect little soldiers to Vader's bastards?" Lady Stoneheart asked. "We have no other choice but to make an alliance. Remember Cersei Lannister. She could have ruled the world if it wasn't for her arrogance. Lyanna will come to see our way."

"You don't know my daughter. She is just like Arya and her namesake. She will never marry someone she doesn't love."

"Then make her. Introduce her to Brendol Hux. Invite him over to dinner so the two could get acquainted." Seeing Sansa's frown, Lady Stoneheart. "You love your children just as I love you and your late siblings, but a mother must be more than a caring figure. She must be strong, otherwise you will lose them."

 

 


	16. Uncertain Future

_"Oh, you can hear me cry_  
see my dreams all die  
from where you are standing on your own  
it's so quiet here  
and I feel so cold  
this house no longer feels like home."   
~So Cold by Ben Cocks

They were on the black bed with scarlet pillows. It was summer on Naboo. Lya and Owen called it the land of always summer. It wasn’t until they guarded Vader’s residence that they finally understood that Naboo was different from other places. The sun came up even when it was winter. It was cold and unyielding. Owen believed more unyielding than his parents’ ancient home on Winterfell. The trees would not shed their leaves; crops would still grow but the air would be so cold that newcomers would find it impossible to breathe.

 _Must be something on these people’s DNA_. It was the only explanation he could find on why they survived this weather.

“What are you thinking?” Lyanna asked, touching his cheek. It was soft, warm. Like a summer breeze on the lake of Naboo.

“Nothing.” He told her. She grinned. “You are lying.” She rose, high enough so he could appreciate the upper half of her naked body. Beads of sweat were dripping from her forehead. She looked so beautiful, like a creature lost in time.

_If only we didn’t have to sneak like this._

“I can always tell when you are lying.” She descended. Their lips were locked in a fiery kiss. _If only_... He thought again.

She kissed his earlobe. "If you are not going to tell me, I am going to guess. Does it start with a certain grouchy commanding officer."

"Lya, don't."

"I knew it. You are jealous." She giggled at his scowl. "You have nothing to be jealous about, I told him he should marry someone else. Someone refined, gentle, not a roughneck like me."

"Your mother won't be too pleased" or your lady grandmother, he thought. If he was her, he would be more scared of Lady Stoneheart. "once he gives up."

"I don't care what she thinks. She can make as many plans as she likes, I only have one person in mind." 

After Eddard found them, still lying on bed, he informed them of their father’s parents late prisoner.

“Late?” Lyanna asked, horrified. She did not want to believe that Vader and the Lady Mary, and most of all her parents, could stoop so low as to kill Brandon Stark but Ned told her that they did.

Lyanna turned to Owen. “There truly are no more innocents left.”

“Bran did not leave this world without revealing something to them though.”

“What did he say?” Owen asked his friend.

“He said ‘things are not what they were supposed to be. So many timelines. So many and I thought we would be stuck in this loop forever. You broke it, but you have turned the future away. Spit in his face, yet it is not the end. If you listen to me, you could save everyone.’ Then he died.” Ned said, unable to believe his father could have gone through it.

“Maybe it wasn’t Bran or maybe we are still stuck in this loop as he says. Maybe he influenced Vader-“

“He didn’t. Vader and the Emperor’s minds cannot be influenced. Vader has grown stronger and Bran has always tried to get to him. I know this because our uncle communicated with me in my dreams.” Ned revealed, surprising them. It had come as a shock to him as well. The first time that Bran showed in his dreams he was walking. He said events had changed. ‘Things that want to happen, have happened. The future has been broken.’  
“He didn’t sound too upset when he told me about how the future had changed. He said that it gave people a choice but before he was captured, his visions got worse until he revealed that he had to do something or else something terrible would come to pass, then just like before he stopped again.”

“I don’t think, or at least I don’t want to think, that he had given up. I think Bran still believed he could change things but he wanted to give us all a choice.” Ned added. Not that it mattered though. Vader’s birth, although prophesized by the Jedi, had been a fluke. He was supposed to bring balance to the Force and yet he had left it more out of balance than before. On top of that, there was Mary Tudor whose birth should have never happened, yet it did.

“Did he tell you about this future? Did he communicate with you?”

Ned could feel the urgency in her sister’s being as she questioned him. Ned nodded, though what he saw was very little.

“Perhaps Bran was lying to you.”

“I think Bran did want to stop the time loop. He did but it was thanks to Vader, but by doing so, he gave up his power or maybe he realized that no matter how much you change time, you have another universe forming. It is what you and I have discussed many times Lya. Some events can be altered, other times it just creates another timeline without affecting ours. Perhaps that is what Bran saw and that is why he gave up because he realized that this ‘loop’ was Brans from other timelines, or other beings and when he came face to face to someone he couldn’t control, it was too much for him.”

“All this talk of time travel is giving me a serious headache.” Owen said.

“You and me both but at least one thing is clear.” Ned said. “No one is left to interfere with past or future events.”

* * *

 

_Before Bran Stark died he saw the other timelines. The future that was meant to be. Daenerys sitting on the Iron Throne. When he realized he could speak to her, he also realized that that future was alive and well and he had done what he was supposed to. ‘Not in this timeline’ -he thought as he braced himself for Vader’s hot sword descending down on him. ‘I ruined things here.’ In truth when he changed things, he wasn’t acting alone. Brans from other point and time were helping him. His sense of wonder led to illusions of grandeur where he believed he was actually the Force but as he was brought face to face with Vader, he realized it was actually the Force that was using him.  
When he died, the Force would make it so the other Brans died as well. It was angry. Too much meddling had messed up the future. It wanted it all to end and so it was not going to save him this time._

_As he breathed his last he saw a glimpse of a desert rose, growing in the harshest environment. With each fight she fought, each step she took, she became more beautiful and her roots spread like wildfire._

* * *

 

Thomas Seymour looked at the face of Owen Tudor as he fucked the dragon-wolf. His entertainment was interrupted by her meddlesome brother who talked endlessly. The three then raised their cups to the air and celebrated an Imperial victory.

He smirked. It wasn’t amusing, he shouldn’t even smile but he remembered three friends in a dark room, conspiring to take on the King by placing his sister in his bed. And we did, and it costs our lives. No, that wasn’t it. What cost them their lives were these kids’ parents.

Mary with her endless dreams, Anakin Skywalker with his idealism, Sansa Stark with her ambitions and Jon Snow with his inability to come to terms with who he was and where he came from.

 _If I could, I would kill them all and give their heads to their parents._ Too bad, he wasn’t that man anymore.

He meant what he said to Han, he had changed. When he took his son out of that orphanage, he did it because he cared. The boy had been a handful. There were times where Thomas wanted to beat the living daylights out of him, but in his own way, he came to love him.

 _Imbecile or not, he is my blood and I swore I would protect my family._ He wheeled around, leaving the three teens to celebrate their parents’ victory. _Youth shall pass and soon they will learn the harsh truth about the galaxy._

If Thomas had stayed longer or gotten closer he would have heard what they were saying and become aware that for all their faults, their carelessness and arrogance, Ned and Lyanna Targaryen-Stark, and Owen Tudor, were not their parents.

* * *

 

Sansa smiled at Jon. “How long before you we speak to one another? Do I have to scare you with the possibility of Lya being pregnant?”

Jon put his fork down and dismissed his servants.

“I am doing this because I love Lya. I don’t want to see her wasting her life like I almost did when I thought Joffrey was my golden Prince.”

“That was different. Owen is not Joffrey and Lyanna is not you. Owen loves our daughter and she loves him, besides, if you are worried about our reputation, you shouldn’t because Owen is a good kid and a good fighter.”

“He is not a child any more than Lya and Ned are. His mother is hated by nearly everyone. Imagine what life will be like married to the bastard son of a bastard.”

“Is that all you care for? Remember, you married a bastard so if Owen and Mary Tudor are bastards, that makes our children bastards as well.”

“You know that is not what I meant.” Sansa said. She softened her tone  and walked towards him. “Jon, I know the death of our brother … your cousin was a difficult thing but you must acknowledge what happened. If we let him live, he would have spoiled everything.”

Jon didn’t say anything. His eyes were cold and unyielding as she was at the moment. “If anything should happen to the Empire, they will come for us and the children. We must do everything we can to make sure that never happens.”

“What if it has already happened? What if Bran made sure of it and there is nothing we can do to stop it?”

“The future can always be changed. Remember what he said. He saw Margaery being blown to pieces along the High Sparrow in the Red Keep and Mary dying before her time and neither of these things came to pass. There is still a chance we can save ourselves but you must listen to me. Don’t make the same mistake you did with Ramsay, don’t let the anger get the best of you.”

“Ramsay.” He smirked. “At least there was someone I could understand. He was foul but at least he was a bastard. This is another game entirely and I am sick of playing it and don’t tell me you are not because I see how you look at your mother every time she shows her scared face. If it is our turn to die, then we die but our son and daughter won’t have to pay for their parents’ sins. They will be protected.”

“Protected? What makes you think the Republic will care about our offspring? They will subject them to a life of servitude. Mary is the most hated woman, Lya has no future with that boy if that woman survives and I can assure you neither does Eddard. As the last male Targaryen and Stark he has more value than his sister. He will be put to death and his head stuck on a pike in front of the cameras.”

“You have a dirty mind. I will die before I let any of them touch my children’s heads.”

“That is what I fear.” Sansa said, giving him a cruel smile. “Then who will be left to protect them? Me? You are right, I am tired of these games. I am tired of being the head of this family and you taking all the credit but I will continue to do it for their sake.” Then she walked away, hiding an even crueler smile.

Family, duty and honor were the Tully words and like any good mother, she would fulfill her vows, forsaking everything, including her integrity to guarantee their offspring’s survival.

* * *

 

Jane Kyra. _No, Kyra!_ she told herself. _I am not Jane anymore._ Everyone insisted on calling her Jane or Jane Kyra but she did not like the name Jane. She couldn’t explain why she didn’t, but all of a sudden it felt wrong. It was as if something was telling her something terrible was going to happen. Luke could feel it too but unlike her, he wasn’t good at hiding his fears and thanks to that, everyone in the base knew something was wrong.

“When the Sun Twins cower, terrible stuff will happen.” “Must be the gods’ punishment for handing over the republic to an evil man.” Others said. They were the superstitious lot who believed that everything had a reason for being.

Not Kyra. She didn’t believe in omens, ghosts or anything of the sort. I believe what I see, she told Luke and like him, she knew the Force was real; but it wasn’t easy to tap into and the visions they’ve got could be easily misinterpreted so she was careful not to fall prey to them.

What if this time I am the one who is wrong? What if they become true because I didn’t listen to them. The dreams in which her friends were dying because she and Luke failed to save them, were the worst. Leia, young and beautiful as she was now, falling to her knees begging for mercy. Marion with her new wife, Doreah Sand, holding hands, bracing themselves for the final blow and Han. He didn’t say anything, he just smiled. That same cocky smile he always wore when danger was near. Bold to the last. When she woke, Luke would wake up as well.  
  
Finally, she had enough of it. She went to Luke’s bed and told him they had to do something. “Should we go to Ben? The whole base distrusts him.” He said wiping his sweaty brow with his sleeve.

It was true. Since the truth was out about the Lady Mary’s parentage, everyone watched the old Jedi Master with different eyes. Same for Catherine. Their old tutor to share his shame. People couldn’t fathom that two people like Obi Wan and Catherine, who represented all the good in the world, could be parents to a monster.

“It doesn’t matter. He is the only Jedi Knight here and he can help us. He was part of the council, was he not?”

“What if we put him in danger and this time Catherine is not there to save him?”

“He is going to be in danger regardless of what we do.” Kyra said. In the back of her mind, there was her ten year old screaming ‘you are Jane, not Kyra.’ But she didn’t listen to her inner voice this time. “If we are supposed to be the Rebellion's heroes, we need to start like ones and take bigger risks.”

“We take risks all the time.”

“I meant bigger risks as in go where no person has gone before risks. If we don’t do this, we are going to regret it for the rest of our lives.” She said and clutched his hand, looking deep into his eyes. Luke wanted to say ‘no’ but unable to look away from her penetrating gaze, he gave in.

* * *

 

Anne eyed the two lovebirds. They were arguing again. Anne chose not to look away in disgust this time. She and Jane had been moths, drawn to the royal flame. Ironic that her rival’s nephew was making the same mistake. _Foolish man._ Didn’t he know who this girl was? Of course he doesn’t. When he finally does he will still follow her and she will be so distraught to find out the truth that she will welcome his attention, and before he knows it, he will have become her slave.

The Skywalkers were nothing more than a plague on this Earth. You don’t think that. She did. Her conscience asked her about Jane Kyra -or simply Kyra as she insisted on calling herself now- and Luke. Don’t they deserve to be spared from your hate? That is different.

Luke and Kyra were nothing like their father. Anakin had been brash, emotion driven. Though Kyra and Luke cared deeply for others, they didn’t give in to their anger. She prayed that they would never have the misfortune of confronting him.

 _He will ruin them._ Of that, Anne was sure. Vader ruined everything he touched. First Padme, then Catherine’s daughter, and then the entire Earth.

Every night she dreamed of waking up and finding that the Rebels had won, that Vader was imprisoned or better yet, killed, but instead, she woke up to the same nightmare.

Leia Organa and her half sister, Marion Tyrell were just like him. There was very little of Padme and Mary in them. Marion took after her maternal ancestors, same with Leia, but that is where it stopped. Their arrogance and their pride came straight from Vader.

Han Solo ended laughing and agreeing to whatever the Princess said, but with the condition she would accompany him for the second dance they had on Hoth.

“Don’t count on it. I would rather kiss a Wookie.”

“Chewie is available but he will not be able to please you as much as I would.” Leia scoffed, laughing as Han tried again.

“See? I got a smile out of you. Admit it, you can’t stand being away from me.”

Princess Leia growled and left. Han ran after her. She caught a small smile on the woman’s lips before she was out the door, Han in tow, trying to make her angry, saying it made her more beautiful.

 _He doesn’t even notice it._ She was the one in control, not Han. A part of her wished that Thomas Seymour would return from his mission so he could put a stop to this nonsense.

Han Solo was a handsome man, an accomplished fighter and if the Rebels won, he could make a name for himself as the general of the new republic’s armed forces. There was nothing he could not do. But if he continued to give into his lust, his bright future would be replaced with sorrow.  
The Princess would hurt him. Don’t ask Anne how she knew it, she just did. She was going to break his heart, eat his soul until he was nothing but an empty shell.

* * *

 

On the other side of the galaxy, Yoda pondered on the things to come. “Clouded the future is.” He used to say when his fellow Jedi asked him about Anakin Skywalker.

The death of Bran Stark, the three eyed raven, was something that nobody could have foreseen. The boy had become over-confident, but even he knew his limitations. When he had been captured, he did not try to see into the future, knowing full well that everything had been rewritten.

_“Anakin’s future puts all in peril. If the rumors about him and the Princess were to be true” Master Luminara Undilli started “ people would lose trust in the Jedi Order.”_

_“People are already losing trust in the Jedi Order. More systems are defecting, either by fear or because they think we failed them, to the Confederacy of Independent Systems.” Master Windu said._

_“How did we fail them? We kept them safe, we even kept Earth safe from invasion.” Master Luminara said._

_“Careful, Master Luminara” Master Ki Adi Mundi said “Pride is a terrible sin among Jedi Masters, especially among one so revered in the council.” His tone carried a hint of warning. Since her apprentice’s betrayal, her opinion was no longer as valued._

_“Apologies Master, but it is painful to see our order face this crisis after a thousand generations of service.”_

_“Last forever, nothing does.” Master Yoda said. “Our Order, reformed, one day it will be. Until that day comes, put our differences aside, we must.”_

_Everyone agreed. Whether or not their hero without fear fancied the Princess, was inconsequential at the moment. They had a war to win, and the only way they could win it was by relying on each other, and freeing themselves from doubt._

Anakin Skywalker’s future had always been clouded. And if Master Yoda could not see into the future, then no one could. It would be what it would be. If he was the chosen one, the Force would guide him in the right direction.

“Wrong we were.” Yoda said to himself. He had felt the death of every Jedi when Order 66 was given. “Hid the three eyed raven we did. For naught, it was all.”

Bran Stark said his visions told him that he would be okay, but he was unable to communicate with the Jedi after the Skywalker siblings blew up the Death Star _. “Something has changed.”_ The youth told Yoda when he appeared to him in his dreams. _“Someone he is in my head”_ Bran paused then clutched his head as he fell on his knees. _“I can feel him right now. He is near. I must go before he finds you.”_

_“The Emperor, it is?”_

Bran shook his head _. “No, it is a darker presence. The rage, the hatred, I have never felt anything like it.”_ He told him and left before that dark lord could reach Yoda as well.  
The rest as the people in his planet said, was history. Bran was captured, declared dead. But it wasn’t until his last nightmare when he had this conversation with Yoda, that he was finally put to death.

That presence was surely responsible for the young man’s death. A greater plot was afoot here and it made Yoda nervous because if it wasn’t the Emperor, then who else could it be?  
_Missed, something did we?_ But how? The Jedi had always sensed a great evil in the senate, and when everything pointed to Sidious they tried getting rid of him. If this presence was as evil as Bran said it was, why hadn’t they sensed it before?

The future once again became clouded, but unlike the grey clouds that enveloped Anakin’s future, these were darker, angrier, throwing bolts of lightning to whoever wished to see past through them. Yoda closed his eyes again and tried to push them away but they were the ones that pushed them back.

He dropped to the floor, clutching his cane. This ‘force’, this entity was everything the late Bran told him. Sinister, but there was no rage, it was pure darkness.

And yet, something was familiar. Need rest. He reached his small bed. Even with his backside problems, Yoda never felt the weight of his old age until now.

It did not take a well trained Jedi or a green-seer to see his future. His days were numbered. Obi Wan needed to send Luke and Jane Kyra Skywalker to him now before it was too late. They needed to save the galaxy and work with their half siblings to bring back the old republic and the Jedi. They were the light’s last hope.

 


	17. Sins of Our Fathers ... and Mothers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Empire strikes back at the Rebels. In what seems a time to be joyous after their many victories, one turn of events and two big revelations change everything for our daring heroes. If you are looking for a fairy tale where everyone lives happily ever after, our heroes can tell you, it ends here. Eager to prove themselves are the daring young trio. Lyanna and Eddard Targaryen-Stark and their friend, Owen Tudor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be one looong chapter and will be one of the last chapters in regards to Empire. I used some dialogue and descriptions from the novelization of TESB, but also added my own take on the movie to make it more dramatic. There will be a lot of angst and bloody moments in this chapter so be warned. This is not for the faint of heart!

_"If I told you what I was_  
_would you turn your back on me?_  
_And if I seemed dangerous would you be scared?_  
_I get the feeling that everything I touch_  
_isn't dark enough that this problem lies in me_

 _I am only a man with a gamble that got me_  
_I am taking a stand to escape what's inside of me_  
_A monster, a monster_  
_I've turned into a monster_  
_and it keeps getting stronger._

 _Can I clear my conscience_  
_if I am different from the rest?_  
_Do I have to run and hide?_  
_I never said I wanted this_  
_this burden came to me_  
_and made its home inside."_  
**~Monster by Imagine Dragons**

 

Kyra woke up screaming. “Luke!” She searched the base for her brother. “He’s not returned yet ma’am.” Luke! She ignored some of their sniggers as she asked more commanding officers if they’d seen her brother.

She went to Leia. “Luke isn’t here.”

“He must be exploring. Conditions on this planet have harshened. What is it that the Starks used to say? Winter is coming. It certainly has come here on Hoth.” Marion said with a tone of amusement. She was standing next to Leia. Her eyes showed a brief flash of searing hatred when she mentioned the Starks. Her voice softened seeing the concern in Kyra’s eyes. “Luke is fine. He has his comlink with him, if something were wrong, he’d call.

“It will be fine. We will tell Luke to report to you when he arrives.” Leia told her. Kyra wasn’t convinced. She went to find Han. He was squabbling with C-3PO. I told him what Leia and Marion had told me, and expressed my concerns.

“You and Luke are going to kill me with your dreams.”

“He has been having dreams too? When?”

“Yesterday. He said he didn’t want to worry you. I am sure Luke is fine. He always comes back and pulls himself out of whatever he is in.”

That was true, but it wasn’t enough to make her feel better. “Where are you going?” She asked him when he grabbed his activation card for the Falcon.

He looked away.

“You are not leaving us now, are you? Not when we need you the most.” Leia needs you, she screamed in her mind. Force help her, that woman was stubborn. She need to let go of her pride, and so did Han, and tell him how he felt already!

“You guys don’t need me, you and Luke seem to be doing fine and so does the Princess. Now if you will excuse me, I have a few things to settle before I leave to pay Jabba.”

~o~

“What has he gotten into now?” Thomas asked to himself, seeing his son run away and take one of the Taun-Tauns. “Where the hell do you think you are going?”

“Luke is missing.”

Thomas shrugged. “He probably turned his communicator off. Inwardly, he hoped that the boy was dead.

“Not a chance. Luke would never be so careless. I need to find the kid before something happens to him.”

Thomas was about to tell him what a bad idea that was when one of the officers beat him to it. “Sir the conditions are unsuitable. You will freeze to death.”

“Then I will see you in hell.” Han said to both of them then departed.

~o~

“Curse him.”

“Thomas calm down.”

“He is going to get himself killed. Why didn’t you say anything?” He asked Jane who shrugged in the same fashion Thomas did when Han asked him about Luke.

“I didn’t want to upset him.” She said in a nonchalant way. “Han is his own man and the less we intrude the better.”

“Besides,” she added “he is going to leave this rock which means he won’t be around the Princess any longer.”

Thomas agreed with her there. That was the only silver lining out of this whole situation. They went to the hangar bay where Princess Leia was talking with the generals. “We can’t hold it any longer. The storm is too great. If we keep this up, you would be putting everyone at risk.”

“Han Solo is still out there.” Thomas said.

“Give him another chance, my nephew will bring Luke back. He has been saving that kid’s hide since day one.”

Kyra walked in and begged Leia to keep the gates open. Marion and her wife however agreed with the generals. “It is too much of a risk, Leia.”

Leia looked down at her feet. It was times like these that she wished to be a simple farm girl, or ordinary girl living in some gods-forsaken rock, away from all the drama and her responsibilities.

She looked up at the generals Regaining her composure, her face cold as her tone, she addressed them. “Close the gates.”

She didn’t say ‘sorry’ to Han and Luke’s loved ones. She was a leader, a Princess, she had the whole base to think of. She would never forgive herself if they lost everything because her feelings got in the way.

After Thomas left the Princess, whispering foul curses at her, Jane and Kyra remained. Each woman’s face told a different story. Jane’s was stone cold, not cold in the way Leia had been when she addressed the generals, it was dry. There was nothing in her eyes but Leia could sense an intense hatred from her. After finishing staring at the woman who had cost her, her nephew’s life she left. Now it was just Kyra.

“Do you have something to say to me Kyra?”

Kyra shook her head. “No, but I do hope that you are doing the right decision, my lady. Ladies.” She bowed her head to Leia then Marion and her sister.

They were royalty. They had to be strong, betray their loved ones, for the others’ sake. It was a position Kyra was glad she was never born into. Up until her aunt and uncle’s deaths, she thought that being Princess meant wearing pretty dresses, staying up all night partying and doing whatever the hell you want.

Now that she realized it wasn’t any of those things, Kyra began regretting the way she behaved with her aunt Beru.

She just wanted to make me a lady. She just wanted a good future for me. She looked down at the doll she and Uncle Owen had given her for her tenth birthday. It was the first thing she got. She never cared for these things, she just wanted to look good to outshine all the girls. Dolls were stupid. They weren’t much fun as boys’ toys and she couldn’t toss them or make them transform the way she could with Luke’s toys. But she kept it because it meant so much to her aunt.

Kyra held it close to her chest. She did not know who or what to pray. So she turned to her doll instead, hugging it, imagining it was her aunt and for one brief moment she was home, with Luke, uncle Owen and aunt Beru.

* * *

 

Luke barely see anything. He wrapped his arms around his chest, trying to keep the cold away but the winds made it impossible. “Ben.” He collapsed. “Ben.” He called out again. “Hear me.”

Ben had told them they were to go to Dagobah before he left the base. It made Kyra angry.

“You’re the one who wanted big risks.”

“I meant as in stealing the plans from the death star big, not crazy big.”

Truth to be told, he didn’t want to go to Dagobah either. He was scared what they would find. Kyra was scared as well but his sister was good at not showing her feelings.

_She would scold me if she could see me now, calling out to our master._

Ben had done what he could to help the Rebellion while training him and Kyra but he always criticized himself afterwards, saying it was not enough.

Luke closed his eyes and called on his sister. He could feel her. His twin was distraught. She was crying. It made it impossible to feel him.

 _Kyra, I am so sorry._ He was not going to make it. He took off his hat and closed his eyes, letting the darkness envelop him.

* * *

 

They say that when a king or queen dies is a tragedy. A person is just another statistic. But for Han, a man who was as selfish as he was lucky, Luke meant more than another acquaintance. He had gotten to know him, his sister, the old man, Ben’s lover, and Leia really good. He didn’t want to lose Luke. He thought about his mother who had never shown any affection for him and her husband Aimar Solo. Losing him had been too much for Han. He used his wit and his skills, stealing from those more fortunate, as a way to cope. No one in his mother’s family cared to stop him; he was just a bastard. The reminder of their daughter’s folly. When Han refused to serve his cousins, they sent him to that orphanage.  
Hell! They probably didn’t even notice I was gone until they saw my picture on the most wanted list.

He got down from his TaunTaun, having just spotted Luke. He was barely breathing. Han woke him up and told him to rely on him. “Ben … Kyra … Dagobah system …”

“Don’t worry kid, I will get you back to the base.” Han said but just then his taun-taun died. He sighed and lay Luke down. He took his friend’s lightsaber and cut the animal open. “You’re not going to like this, but it is the only way.” He pushed Luke inside the thing’s intestines. Luke groaned.

“I know kid.” Han said. “And I thought they smelled bad on the outside.” He lay next to Luke, putting the lightsaber back in Luke’s holder.

A transport eventually came and picked them up after the storm had calmed down. Admiral Ackbar told them that it had been at Kyra’s insistence.

Still not well, Luke smiled. So she did hear my call for help.

They put Luke in a bacta tank. Once he was out, he was greeted by his sister. “Hey little brother.” She said with a small smile. Her eyes were puffy from crying. She swung her arms around Luke, not caring how this made her look in the eyes of her friends, especially Marion who valued strength above all.

“I thought I lost you.”

“I thought I lost you too.” Luke said, hugging her back. He wanted to return the tears to let her know that her pain was his pain but none came. He was too weak even for that, but he showed her a smile, and passed his hand through her golden hair to make sure she was real and this was not some hallucination.

As their eyes made contact, it dawned on him how beautiful she was. He had always thought of her as pretty, but not in the way he thought of her now. Something had changed. He didn’t know if it was because he was so happy to see her again, or because for the first time he started seeing her not as a brother, but as a man who locks gazes with the most beautiful woman.

Their moment was cut short by Han and Leia and the rest of their friends. Han told Luke he should be more careful, while Marion and Leia told him that next time they will send one of their drones. Their happiness was spoiled by Han who made one comment about Leia and how happy she was to have a handsome rogue like him.

“You think too much of yourself laser brain.” Leia said but Han kept up going.

“You stuck up, laser brain, nerf herder!” Leia said when she couldn’t stand him anymore and in response to Han’s disregard for her insults she showed him much she thought of him by kissing Luke. An intense, short but passionate kiss that left everyone stunned except Luke who felt like he had been rewarded with the greatest gift in the world. _So this is how it feels to kiss royalty._ It felt good.’

~o~

Did Leia just do that? Kyra thought to herself. That … She didn’t want to finish that thought. Just stay calm. It was just to show Han. But what was the point? Couldn’t she have kissed someone else?

Heck, why not kiss Marion or tell her to go get Doreah and say she is going to have a threesome? That would have shown that macho proud, stubborn ass Han.

She willed herself to smile, the same smile that was plastered on her twin’s face but inside she was seething.

* * *

 

General Veers found Vader in his meditation chamber. He thanked the gods that Admiral and Grand Moff Targaryen wasn’t there with him. Targaryen hated Veers, more so than his wife who pitied him.

Veers has lost his wife to one of the Rebels, in response his son joined them. He blamed his father for the atrocities the Empire committed on Axxila. Veers never saw him again. Lady Sansa told him that if he saw his son again, he’d have to shoot him while Grand Moff Targaryen said very little but his eyes said a whole lot.  
“We will give him our regards if you cannot.” He said then his witch whispered to his ear “Death by fire is the purest death.”

The two were unable to stand the sight of him. They labeled him a traitor. The only reason he was still alive was because Vader respected him. It sounded odd. Vader respecting one of his officials but he did. Moreover, he dared not tell his associated, he believed that the other reason why he was still alive was because of the lady Mary. Her lover, Lord Arthur Tudor regarded him as a nuisance. But Lady Mary always treated him well.  
Despite what people said about the lady Mary having love for no one, he suspected that she still had feelings for Vader.

“What is it general?” Vader asked, thankful Veers didn’t see him without his helmet. The general had been around during the clone wars and was one of the few among the high ranking officers who knew him as Anakin Skywalker. Seeing the face of his hero during his boyhood years, would make him weak and there was no room for weakness aboard Vader’s star destroyer.

“My lord the fleet has moved out of lightspeed, com-scan has detected an energy field protecting an area out of the sixth planet of the Hoth system. The field is strong enough to deflect any bombardment.”

“The rebels are alert to our presence. Admiral Ozzel came out of lightspeed too close to the system.”

“H-he felt surprise was wiser.” General Veers said in his colleague’s defense, hoping Vader would understand but unfortunately for his colleague, he was about to find out how ‘a simple mistake’ had no place in Vader’s world.

“He is as clumsy as he is stupid. General, prepare your troops for surface attack.”

“Yes, my lord.” Veers said and left. Vader’s chair turned around so he was facing the screen. Ozzel had failed him for the last time, he would pay.

“Lord Vader, the fleet has moved out of lightspeed, and we’re preparing to … argh …”

He clutched his throat. His second in command, Captain Piett was standing next to him. He was unmoved by Vader’s actions. Everyone in the base was aware of Vader’s power, but few believed it extended this far.

Behind him, they whispered “Is this even possible?” Piett felt the floor beneath him tremble.

He knew that being first officer wasn’t something to look forward. Since his early years in Axxila, a planet located in the Outer Rim territories of the galaxies, he had looked forward to being a great general, an admiral, or a Moff even! Alas, his years in the Imperial Starfleet taught him a great deal about the short span of high officers.

Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin took him under his wing because he saw something in him. But he always chastised him when it came to torturing prisoners. He was too soft, he’d say.

His first kill had been at fifteen. It was an old lady. She spit at him after he tried to help her. Tarkin smirked.

 _“See? What did I tell you? You’re too soft.  Don’t think this is where the golden rule applies, treat one person good, they will treat you good back. That doesn’t exist, the galaxy is a harsh place Firmus. Being like that will only get you killed.” He sighed. “If you truly want to spare the woman any more suffering, shoot her.” He handed him a pistol. “What are you waiting for, Piett? Shoot her.”_  
_‘I am sorry.’ He muttered to himself and fired at her. One shot in the head. She was dead in seconds. He barely registered the sound of her body as it made contact with the stony floor._  
_“You see, Piett? We should never hesitate to use the lash, when necessary -but there are moments when the lure is even more effective.”_

 _What had he meant by that? Firmus thought at the time._  
_Eventually killing prisoners became easy, but he could never forget the screams of the old woman, or the taste of her spit, before he put her out of her misery. Three years after the battle of Yavin he’d been made a captain. Eager to stay away from the action, he made sure he shined with his skills at decoding and analyzing data. That earned him a place aboard the Executor where he served under Kendal Ozzel._

Piett couldn’t stand the man. He was a pompous and incompetent officer who owed his position to his money. His family had been prominent in the days of the old republic and they were key in financing the Emperor’s campaign when he ran for Chancellor. Every day, Ozzel would mock Vader, thinking that the man in black didn’t hear him. But he did and now he’s paid the price for it.

“You have failed me for the last time, Admiral.” Vader said, bringing Piett back from his dark memories. “Captain Piett.”

“Yes, my lord.” Piett said, stepping forward, ignoring the grunts from his commanding officer.

“Make ready to land our troops beyond their energy shield and deploy the fleet so that no one gets off the system. You are in command now **Admiral** Piett.”

“Thank you, Lord Vader.” Piett said, ignoring the gasps and shrieks from his men as their former commander fell to the ground, dead.

* * *

 

General Veers told his men to advance. Piett had done a hell of a job stealing the Rebels’ code and re-routing it so they thought there were no Imperials on sight.

When the moment came to attack, the Rebels were completely taken by surprise.

* * *

 

The base was attacked. One of the Imperial probes had tracked Hoth. The reports they got from one of their droids told them that the danger had passed but the Empire had somehow managed to hack into it, sending them false reports.

Marion ordered her wife to board one of the ships. “I can stay here with you. The Empire is no match for a sand snake.”

“This isn’t up for debate. You have your father’s courage, I know and your mother’s ferocity but the Empire has guns and gods forbid if Vader steps one foot on this base. He can extract information and use you to get to me and Leia.”

“He won’t.” Doreah Sand said. She held Marion’s hand. “Please, let me stay here with you.”

It wasn’t normal for a sand snake to beg. Their hearts were cold as their passions were high. Fire was in their blood. “I fight as well as any man; I can take them.”

It wasn’t that she was a woman. It was the fact that she was too important for Marion. Should Vader get ahold of her, he’d torture her, bully her or send her to one of his soldiers so she could be raped.

Marion couldn’t stand the thought of that. It was too much. She steeled her heart and told her with a tone of finality to go. Doreah released her and went. Marion didn’t miss the anger in her face.

* * *

 

Kyra took her seat behind Luke. “Ready little brother?”

“I am the old one here, remember?” He said, flashing her a confident smile.

“You guys,” their friend Dax said through their radio. “I feel so confident that I think I can take the entire fleet!”

Everyone laughed but echoed his feelings. Most of them had not seen action in weeks. They were eager to prove themselves to their superiors. A select few wanted to fight because they saw themselves liberators in a war between light and dark.

“Any time Dax, any time. Maybe this time you won’t be such a show off as last time when you claimed you killed one of their beasts.” Marina Aziul said. She was in the third combat ship, seated opposite Dax.

“Ha, ha, very funny girl but if you recall, I did kill their pet.” Dax said. Luke and Kyra rolled their eyes. Those two were going to start squabbling again.

“Alright troops, let’s show these Imperials what we are made of.” Kyra said and Luke echoed her feelings. Everyone cheered and set off to take on the Imperial walkers.

~o~

Kyra coughed. She waited for her brother to come down. She jumped hearing an explosion from behind. No! With strength she didn’t know she had, she opened the cockpit, ignoring the searing pain in her hands. Shard glass, fire that spread all the way to her back, she kept on pulling and finally, when the fire stopped spreading, she saw them.

Dax. Marina. Their faces were black, bloody. If it wasn’t for their name tags, she wouldn’t have known who they were. For the second time since her uncle and aunt died, she howled in pain.

**~o~**

Luke ran up to his sister. Oh Force! He gasped seeing the burn marks on her hands and the blackness son her back. He took off a path of morphine and a syringe of bacta fluid. It would speed up the curation and new skin would grow in weeks.

Kyra didn’t react to Luke however. She just saw the stunned faces of Marina and Dax as they were hit, and her aunt and uncle. When Luke took off his gloves, she touched one of his hands, and the memories came rushing in. Luke felt what Kyra felt and he cried as well.

His tears came to an end when they heard the Imperial walkers approaching. This wasn’t the time for tears, Luke told himself. He regained his composure and he and his sister ran back to the base where they took two X Wings.

They were going to go to Hoth, find some answers and finish what they started with Obi Wan.

* * *

 

Obi Wan and Catherine were the last ones to escape Hoth. Leia considered them and the elders too important. Catherine wasn’t happy to be in the same ship as the harlot who stole the future from her and neither was Anne from the woman who pompously strut around like she was high above everyone else.

Jane and Thomas and their sister in law, ignored them for the most part while Jane and Catherine Fillol’s daughters didn’t care at all.

Obi Wan sighed. He could feel Mary and Vader. They were distraught. About what this time? He did not dare close his eyes. They would sense him prying into their minds and that would put everyone on this ship at risk.

Thomas eyed the former Queen of England with hateful eyes. “If you have something to say to me, Sir Thomas, say it now.” She told him, this was getting ridiculous. She was like his son. It was no wonder that Han Solo nearly got himself killed on almost every mission. One rotten apple from a rotten tree.

Although Thomas was no Jedi, he could guess what Catherine thought of him. Arrogant, opportunist, selfish. These were names he had been called since the times of Henry VIII. He had never cared for any of them. He was what he was and he did what he had to do to ensure his family’s success above all others. But today was another story. Thomas tried to find Han but he was busy with that stuck up Princess, convincing her to go aboard the Falcon with him and his first mate.

_“Don’t be stupid!” He yelled at Han but Han ignored him. “I am terribly sorry Sir; he is most unreasonable.” C-3PO said, following the couple, Bess and Mary Stuart, and the wookie to the ship._

_Thomas cursed under his breath. Again, Han had to be brash just for the sake of it. He and Jane hurried to one of the remaining ships. Inside were her predecessors, their sister in law, Cassandra and Miriam and of course that old coot, Obi Wan Kenobi._

Thomas could barely stand Kenobi either, but at least the man had some honor left in him. Catherine on the other hand was a hypocrite who thought she was better than everyone else because she had been an anointed queen and her blood was more royal. If she wasn’t so gone from her delusion, she would see that she was the same as everyone else.

“I have nothing to say my lady. I just want to get to the next Rebel outpost as soon as possible and find out if any of our offspring survived.”

“So do I.” Her answer earned a cold chuckle from Thomas Seymour. “Do you find something funny, Sir Thomas?”

“As a matter of fact I do. I am glad you asked.” He rose. “You spent years raising those two brats, keeping up the lie you agreed on with your Jedi lover and their aunt and uncle that they are twins when in fact they are not. You didn’t care if they failed or not. To you two, they are just tools.”

“Thomas.”

“No, not this time Jane. I am tired of acting the fool for these people. I was happy where I was. Was I good? No, but you know what, I didn’t give a shit.”

“Is that all?” Catherine asked, remaining calm. “You think that words can hurt me, Sir Thomas? I am Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Isabel and Fernando. I am not afraid what people like you think of me and you are wrong. I deeply care about my grandchildren.”

“That’s way more funny. You consider Luke your grandson? Really? How long before their visions take them to Vader or worse, lead them to your whore daughter?”

Catherine’s expression hardened. She shot daggers from her eyes. Who was this man to chastise her, the daughter of Kings? “I suggest you are careful Sir Thomas; the others may tolerate your vulgarity. I do not. What my daughter has become is her own doing. Luke and Jane Kyra are the only good things remaining of Vader and if they go to Dagobah, they will complete their training and finish what their father was supposed to have finished.”

“You are really full of it. You and that man. They won’t complete anything. I can assure they will fail just as their father did.” Thomas said returning to his seat.

Catherine swallowed her pride. Obi Wan placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, sending waves of comfort. How she hated these people. She would never admit to her priests these, but every day she had to tolerate the English courtiers, their fake smiles and their mocking eyes, she couldn’t help but think of million ways she would finish them if she was Queen Regnant.

She sat next to Obi Wan. No one spoke for the remainder of their voyage.

Anne hugged her cross. It was the one Bess gave her last year. Her daughter still believed in fairy tales. She had raised her to be a good woman, fair but also smart but Bess still had something of her father and mother inside her before reality came crashing on their doorstep.

 _Bess._ She prayed. _Be safe._

* * *

 

**[DAYS LATER]**

Han and Mary Stuart could not believe they were **this** lucky. “It must be a record.” Han said

No one fooled the Empire twice. Somehow they managed to bypass the Emperor’s security systems, and scape a space monster’s belly.

“Where should we go now?” Mary asked. The Empire would find them if they stayed where they were. They always do, she thought grimly.

Han didn’t answer right away. They couldn’t go to one of the core worlds. It was filled with Imperial presence. And the outer rim with the Hutts and other crime lords, was out of the question.

Han looked up. Of course! Why didn’t he think of it before? He put the coordinates in the ship and set course for their next destination.

“We will go to Lando.”

“Lando system?” Leia asked, equally concerned as her friends, Marion and Elizabeth. The three women weren’t so relieved they had escaped this easily. The first two had known from personal experience that you just didn’t escape from the Emperor’s clutches by chance.

“Lando isn’t a system, he is a man. Right now, the only man that can help us.” Han informed her.

“Are you sure we can trust him?” Bess asked. “What if the Imperials have already gotten to him?”

“I doubt that. Lando’s spot is out of the Empire’s reach.”

“Where is this Lando exactly?” Marion asked.

“Cloud City, the old commercial hub and mining facility.” Han told her, showing her a holo image of the structure.

It was impressive. Marion noted. She heard of structures like these before. It was back from the times of the first Jedi, thousand generations back before she was born. After the last Sith wars, these mining facilities had been abandoned, minus one.

She was curious as to how a scoundrel like Lando could be in charge of that.

“What makes you think he is like me sweetheart?” Han asked with a nervous laugh. Marion’s cat-like eyes always made him nervous.

“For once, you refer to him so casually which is something you don’t usually do, and lastly you looked surprised that he could be in Cloud City.”

Han threw his hands up in the air. “Fine, so he is. What of it? Right now he is the only one who can help us.”

“Why not go to the rebel base instead?” Bess asked. She didn’t like the idea of going into the unknown. The times she had been on missions with Luke and Kyra they had been in planets filled with people she had come across with when she had been younger serving her sister and after, when she joined the Rebellion.

“It will be fine. The rebel base is too far and we might not make it with all those star destroyers likely heading there. If we do, the elders and the officers would have evacuated and we would be at their mercy. This will work, trust me.”

Bess said nothing more. Leia said “I sure hope you know what you are doing.”

“Me too.” Han said, hoping that the news about the bounty Jabba had on him hadn’t reached his friend.

* * *

 Kyra closed her mind. After R2’s near death experience, she and Luke were shocked to find that this so called great warrior was actually a midget size green skinned guy who looked more like an elf than a Jedi Master. But they stayed nonetheless, and what they learned was unlike anything they had felt before. Power surged through them. They smiled. It was amazing. They wanted all of it.

Yoda put a stop to it before it went to their heads, cautioning them about what it had done to Obi Wan’s dark apprentice who became Darth Vader, and what it did to their mother.

“Who was our mother? Did she really die?” Luke asked.

“Good, she was. Dead, she sadly is.” Yoda informed them, looking directly at Luke then switched his gaze at Kyra. “Your mother, spirited she was, believer in justice, she was as well. Killed her, the Empire did.”

“Is the dark side stronger, Master Yoda?” Kyra asked as Luke helped the green Master off his back and put him on Kyra’s back. The two were sweating but they ignored the toll this training was taking on them, for the sake of learning the truth about the Force and their parents.

* * *

 “Ready my ship.” Mary called to her lover, Arthur Tudor. He barely had time to respond as she informed him that she had been summoned by Vader.

Arthur wasn’t happy with this. He didn’t like being around her anymore, the only thing that kept them together was their son and even that, was not enough to face each other on a day by day basis. Arthur loved his mother, whenever he lied with Mary, he imagined it was Catherine and for that Mary’s hatred of her mother grew.  
Arthur tried to keep her in one place under his watchful eye. Though he wasn’t strong in the Force, he knew about human nature. It was the only good thing he got out of his father and he could sense that Mary was still hot for Vader. Just like her father, she aims for the highest mountain. It wouldn’t surprise him if he found the two in bed, naked, one day. He laughed at that picture. If he ever did, he would make sure she understood what it was like to cross a Tudor. A true Tudor, not a fake one like she pretended to be.  
Arthur willed himself to smile cruelly at his lover and said no more as she finished her explanation. If Mary wanted to play these little games behind his back, he’d let her. He would bid his time, inform the Emperor of her and Vader’s every move and when the time came, he would strike and earn his place as the Emperor’s second in command.

Mary didn’t view Arthur’s sudden change of conduct as something suspicious. Her lover was a Tudor and like all Tudor men, they changed as quickly as stations did in Westeros.

She asked her ladies to put on her best headdress. She wanted to look like a Queen. I will finally see her. She had caught glimpses of Jane Kyra in the holo news. All she could think of the time was people’s laughter, and what the Emperor must be thinking of her after she revealed almost everything.

 _Today will be different_. Today she would look at her daughter and tell her she was her mother.

* * *

 Kyra and Luke tried to focus but they couldn’t. That same vision again. This time it hit both of them at the same time.

“Not concentrated, you were!” Yoda chastised them, hitting their legs lightly with his cane after he fell from their telekinetic hold.

“Sorry Master but it was Leia … Han …”

“Bess … Marion …” Kyra finished for him.

“They were in pain and Vader; the Lady Mary were there. They killed them because we weren’t there.” Luke said.

This was exactly what Master Yoda feared. “Listen to visions, you should not. Visions, true they are always not.”

“But it seemed so real!” Luke shouted, losing his patience. He had enough of this critter’s riddles and training. He and Kyra should be out there fighting for their friends and family.

Kyra placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him down but he pushed it away. “We need to go.” He said imperiously.

“No!” She said, grabbing his arm.

“You can’t be serious? I’ve had enough of cave stuff and training. We haven’t learned anything useful, we need to save our friends.”

“Maybe Yoda is right, maybe we need to stop and think. Every time we listen to one of our visions, things go south. What if this vision is trying to tell us that it is our involvement which gets them killed?” Kyra said but Luke didn’t hear her.

“Lister to your sister, you should.”

“Yeah? What if they die?” Luke asked, his face a mask of fury.

“Should they die, their death, honor them, you should.”

“I can’t.” Luke said turning and shaking his head. He turned to Kyra. “We can’t leave them behind.”

Yoda hung his head. Ready, they were not. He sighed as the two, brother and sister, boarded their X-Wings and headed course for Cloud City.

Two ghostly figures appeared to Master Yoda. They were the former Queens of England, Elizabeth Woodville and her daughter, Elizabeth of York. Both of them had used Melusina for their ends and a dark figure ensured that she'd be reincarnated in human flesh. That goddess was now Mary Tudor, and she was filled with anguish and hatred. Corrupted by her former husband, her current lover, and everyone else who loved and betrayed her, she wanted it all. 

As with Vader, her only hope of redemption lay with her offspring but now they were gone too.

"Those two were our only hope." Mother and daughter said.

"No. There are two more." Yoda said.

* * *

 

Bess changed from her dirty rebel uniform to a fresh gown made of satin and alien silk. It was perfect. Light and dark green and one skinny necklace. _I look like I am back to being a Princess._ It was not outrageously flashy like the ones worn in the times of Henry VIII, but it was beautiful nonetheless.

She and Mary looked around for a tiara to match it. “None.” Mary said, disappointed.

“It will have to do without one then. There. How do I look?”

Her younger cousin gave her the ‘ok’ with her fingers. “I told you I’d find something good in this place.” Bess told her. “Now you, we must do something about your hair.”

“What is wrong with my hair?” Mary Stuart asked. Old Scottish queens used to wear hair like this with one or two braids.

“It is going to scream Earth when people recognize it as something from the Highlands.”

“So? We can trust Lando, you heard Han.”

“We can’t trust Lando, Mary. Something is not right. I am no Jedi but many years with my mom has taught me not to trust people right away.” Only a fool would trust a smuggler. Even if he was a former smuggler.

“You worry too much Bess. Don’t be such a drama queen and let’s focus on what is important.” Mary Stuart said and Bess nodded to her friends.

**~o~**

Leia’s attire was simple, but she looked more radiant than everyone, including Marion whose outfit was almost the same.

“So care to tell us what you do here, man of the hour?” Han asked with a tone of playfulness.

“I look after the people of cloud city and make sure we trade with all the important outposts in the galaxy. We are mostly a mining facility but we are also a commercial hub. People from all over the outer rim come to us when they want to buy something fancy. We are the closest they will ever get to the core systems.”

“Look at you, speaking like a businessman.” Han said, impressed that his friend hadn’t taken advantage of this facility, robbed it and lived like a king in one of the outer rim worlds.

Lando explained that after he had won this facility in a game of chance, he decided it was time to settle down. “Besides, I’ve grown very close to the people, especially Lobot.” He motioned to his human cyborg.

“How have you managed to stay out of the Empire’s clutches?” Bess asked. It looks as if a place like this would be the first one to attract the Empire’s attention.

“We made sure the Empire would never bother us again.”

“Again?” Marion asked, pushing a strand of dark auburn hair behind her ear. She wore diamond earrings. Diamonds used to be a rarity on Earth, on some worlds they still were but the Empire considered them a cheap rock so many nobles didn’t wear them.

“Our ships have been raided by the authorities because they were suspected of aiding the rebels. We used to worry we were going to be taken over, but thanks to our new deal we don’t have to worry about that anymore.” Lando informed them.

Bess and Leia looked at each other worriedly. “Here we are, I hope you will enjoy lunch, our guest of honor is waiting for us.”

 _Guest of honor?_ Leia wondered. Just then, the door slid open and they saw Vader. Seated next to him was the Lady Mary.

Han was quick to withdraw his blaster and fire at the dark Lord of the Sith. Vader held his hand up and deflected the blaster and with his telekinetic power took the blaster from Han.

“I am sorry.” Lando said. “They came before you did.”

“We would like you to join us.” Vader said. Lady Mary smiled at them, her eyes setting on Marion Tyrell.  
“My lady Marion, how long it has been? Six, ten years since I visited Alderaan and saw your lady mother and grandmothers?”

It took every ounce of self-restraint for Marion not to grab one of the utensils and launch herself at Mary and push it down that woman’s throat.

~o~

Han was put on the chair and lowered down to the mental device which stimulated his neurons and made him feel like he was burning deep inside. His screams of pain were ignored by everyone, save his friends.

Heading towards Cloud City, arriving minutes before the infamous Skywalker twins was Eddard Targaryen and his sister and her lover, Lya Targaryen and Owen Tudor.

Owen had been ordered by his father to stay put but he couldn’t help it. His mother had left in such a rush and then Lya and Ned’s parents were telling them to _assist_ Lord Vader and Lady Mary.

He needed to see what was going on and if he was going to become as fearless as his father, he needed to learn from the most feared man in the galaxy.

As they made their way to the cells, they were surprised to find the smuggler, Han Solo being interrogated by Vader.

“Lord Vader.” Owen said, first.

“Owen, what are you doing here? I told you to stay put.” Mary said, slightly annoyed with her son’s behavior.

“I am sorry mother, but you, and Vader and Grand Moff and his wife recalled Ned and Lya here, I couldn’t just sit idly by. I needed to know what was going on. Maybe I can help you too.”

Mary smiled warmly at her son. _He is a good son._ But she didn’t want him to find out the truth about his half-sister like this. Or his other half-sister. Mary didn’t know if her other girl was alive, she had a feeling she was close but that feeling never lasted.  
Seeing Owen’s hopeful look on his face, she realized she couldn’t send him away. _I didn’t want him to find out like this but I can’t do anything now. The wheel has been turned and he must now be part of it, and see for himself why I have been working so hard to ensure our future._

“Of course.” Mary said, taking his hands. “You may stay.”

Vader looked away. Mary was a fool for allowing her son to stay. He was feeble minded as his father and like all Tudors, once he found out the truth, he would be confused and scared and rebel. That is all Tudors are good for. But he said nothing at the moment as he focused on the man he had to torture.

He motioned for Ned and Lya to assist him.

“What should I do?” Lya asked calmly, intrigued by the man’s pain. She had her fair share of battles, but she had never been privy to a man’s pain. This can be my chance to prove myself and dispel the notion from my lady mother and grandmother that I am destined to be a lady. And once her mother heard that she and Owen did a good job (together), she would consider the lady Mary’s offer and agree to their betrothal.

Ned for his part was nervous. Torture was not a pretty sight, but he steeled himself at the sight. If this man was truly guilty, he deserved every bit of pain. _And even if he is not, it is not my place to question_. He had learned that from his father early on. _“A good soldier obeys.”_

Vader told Lya to push the button that injected the syringe into the patient’s neck. “Good.” He said, impressed that the girl did not vomit on her first patient.

After they were done with the smuggler, Vader ordered the three to return him to his cell.

“Cowards!” The red haired Tudor lady screamed at them.

Lya and Owen smirked. “What’s it to you Princess? Your father tortured plenty of soldiers when he was in power.” Owen said, chuckling as she shot daggers from her eyes.

How cute. She is not worthy of calling herself a Tudor.

“Leave her be.” Lya told Owen. “If you cooperate Lord Vader might show you mercy or give you a quick death.” She told Bess and her friends then left.

Ned however stayed behind, intrigued by the lady Tudor’s defiance. For someone so small, he pondered, she is not afraid to stand up to us. “What are you waiting for?” She asked him. “Aren’t you going to go back to your friends to play lapdogs to Vader and the lady Mary?” She said Mary’s name with a hateful tone that took him slightly by surprised. He was aware of their personal history but he didn’t think she still held a grudge.

He smiled at the pretty red head and left, locking the metal door behind him.

* * *

  _No._ Thomas felt something in his chest. It was cold. He struggled to breath. Not wishing to wake up everyone on the ship, he took a deep breath. _God,_ he prayed. _Tell me this isn’t happening._

Something had happened to Han. It was strange, he could not see things the way Jedis or warlocks and other mystics could, but he could feel his son was in danger nonetheless.

_“Look Thomas a flower!” Edward told his brother. Thomas looked astonished. It was a blue rose. The rarest kind. These no longer grew on Earth._

_“It is beautiful.” Thomas exclaimed, smiling widely as Edward said it was now his and he would not let anything happen to it._

That was the last happy moment Thomas and Edward had. Growing up, they had never been close. But Thomas always knew that his brother meant well. Whenever someone mocked Thomas, that person became Edward’s enemy.

After he came back from France though, things changed. He was no longer the protective, smiling brother. He was cold and he just cared about advancing his family. He convinced his father to send his sister to serve Queen Catherine and Thomas to serve the King alongside him.

Things got worse after their father danced with his first wife. Edward never forgave him for that but never one to make a drama out of something, he let it die and married an even greater whore. Unlike before though, Edward didn’t care who she slept with as long as her children were his and she kept her end of the bargain so he turned a blind eye to her affairs.

_“So you are the black sheep of the family? The one no one notices?” A beautiful woman, blond with blue eyes and fair skin, asked. She was wearing something provocative. A very low neckline dress and hair loose though perfectly straight, with a pearl and flower diadem._

_“And who might you be?”  He asked the mysterious woman._

_“My father is one of the biggest heads of Corellia. You should know.” She signaled to a fat man, dressed in rich silks, in French-like fashions next to his King._

_“You’re …” She nodded then whispered in his ear. “The King has been eying my breasts all night too. If word got out I opened my legs for one of his courtiers he would go away. Will you be my valentine?” She asked giving him a heart jewel she had made for the King, but seeing as he was the other man, like the King, who was entranced by her, she gave it to him instead._

Thomas wished he had never slept with that woman. Or having been so stupid as to ask her for her hand in marriage. Edward never knew about his proposal, neither did his wife Anne. Had they, they would have told him how stupid he was, especially Anne who regarded sentimentality as sign of weakness.

Thankfully, they never did -or suspected. After Thomas found out about their failure to convince the Empire of their loyalty and their subsequent executions, he grew more somber and cautious. He had nothing left to live for except Edward’s first wife, her daughter and Jane and her daughter. When he found Han, it was like another door had opened and he thought that maybe this could be his big chance to redeem himself.

_What a fool you were_. He heard his conscience say, using his brother’s voice _.  
I was. I thought that if I created something good, something pure then maybe I could prove to the galaxy that I am not such a dastardly being._

But Han turned out to be a screw up like him. _Now he is facing death and I can’t do anything to stop it._

He had flown too close to the sun and now God was punishing him. Another Seymour, dead because he wanted to lie too close with another royal.

* * *

 Lya ordered the Stormtroopers to double the guard but lay it down once the Sun Twins arrive. “We don’t want them to think we are hot on their trail. Order your first leader to move to the southern entrance. Make sure that no one sees where the Bounty Hunter is going.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Owen wrapped his arms around her waist once they were alone. “You look so hot when you are bossy.” He whispered on her ear.

“Not here, Owen. Vader can see us and you know how he gets at others’ happiness.”

Owen did, however that didn’t stop him from kissing her. Lya responded to the kiss. It was short lived as their brother came in telling them the time had come to put Han Solo in the carbon-freezing chamber.

~o~

Lando justified himself, telling them the Imperials weren’t after them but after the two heroes of the Rebellion.

 _“You sold us out.”_ Things like this didn’t hurt him, but it was different this time. Leia’s tone made it seem like he had committed the worst crime in history. Her words cut right through him and he found himself almost unable to breathe every time she glanced at him.

~o~

R2 D2’s head swiveled atop his barrel-like body as his scanners perceived the star-studded void of the Bespin system. His partner, R3 D3 code named “Pink”, had not said much.

 ** _Has Anakin spoken to you?_** Pink beeped. R2 turned his head one way and then another, the closest thing to a shake which signaled “no” that he could muster.

Anakin was dead. Humans had a weird way to deal with grief. R2 was a droid, therefore devoid of emotion but he had formed an attachment with Anakin and the Senator. Anakin always treated him like a  person, so did the Senator and his former apprentice. When he turned to the dark side, humans said he ceased to exist. Humans were weird, R2 decided. Pink confused Luke with Anakin. R2 had showed it a picture of the former Jedi turned Sith Lord. The two looked alike with the minor exception that Anakin had been taller and there was a look of pain in his eyes that Luke didn't have.

Kyra and Luke got out of their ships. R2 and Pink followed them. R2’s chirping informed him that something was wrong. His sensors detected Imperial presence, yet there were no Stormtroopers near them.

The grim faced Luke and his sister quickly responded to the first of his questions as to why it was all quiet. “Yes. I am sure they are planning something but we must proceed.”

Pink said nothing, but R2 persisted, repeating his second question.

“I am sure Threepio is with them.” Kyra answered this time. She imagined she was back on Tatooine, with her aunt.

R2 whistled an excited exclamation.

“Just hold on.” Luke said patiently, “we’ll be there soon.”

R2’s turning head perceived more Imperial presence but he and Pink said nothing more. Pink had very little interaction with Threepio, but it trusted R2 when it told her that he was a good companion and it would be excited to see him as R2 would be.

* * *

 Lando and Vader stood near the hydraulic platform that dominated the huge carbon-freezing chamber. The Dark Lord was quiet while aides, including the Targaryen siblings and the younger Tudor hurried to prepare the room.

Lya’s face was a mask of excitement and curiosity. So was her brother’s but it faded when they brought the rebel prisoners. Bess’ eyes haunted him. Why do they have to look at me? He looked ahead, centering his attention at the place where Solo would be lowered in.

Like a lab rat, he would be experimented on, frozen, to see if a human body could withstand the temperatures so when the Sun Twins arrived, they would know if they could use it for them.

“The facility is crude,” Vader remarked, “but it should suit our needs.”

One of Lord Vader’s officers turned to Owen who informed him of the Sun Twins’ arrival. Owen walked to Vader and informed him. “Lord Vader, they have arrived.”

“Good.” Vader said coldly. Mary had just arrived into the chamber. Her heart skipped a beat when she heard Owen tell her former _husband_ the news. _They are here. Finally!_

“Monitor the Skywalkers progress and allow him to land. We’ll have the chamber ready for him shortly.”

“We only use this facility for carbon-freezing,” the administrator of Cloud City said nervously. “If you put them there, it might kill them.”

“That is why we will use it for Han.” Mary reminded him in a low voice.

“Bring in Solo.” Darth Vader commanded.

Lando quickly glanced at Vader and Mary. He always wondered if the rumors about these two devil hounds were true. Although his face was hidden, he believed the Dark Lord to be wearing the same crude smile as the Lady Mary did.

He hadn’t been prepared for the pure evil that was manifested in these two terrible beings _. Gods damn them and the bloody Emperor they serve._

Six of the pig-like Ugnaughts frantically prepared what was left of the carbon freezing chamber. Darth Vader, now the true master of Cloud City, smiled beneath his mask. Lando was right, he was a man of pure evil. An Ice Dragon, who was ready to unleash an icy hell on the Skywalkers and their friends.

* * *

 As the Ugnaughts finished, Boba Fett rushed in, leading a squad of six Imperial Stormtroopers. The troopers replaced the ones that had been guarding Marion, Leia, Han, Bess Tudor and the wookie who carried the broken protocol droid on his back.

Vader turned to the bounty hunter. “Put him in the carbon-freezing chamber.”

“What if he doesn’t survive?” the calculating Boba Fett asked. “He is worth a lot to me.”

“The Empire will compensate you for the loss.”  Vader said succinctly.

Anguished, Leia protested, “No!”

“You bastards!” Bess roared while Marion gave the former Eighth Sister-Inquisitor and Lady Mary, her most hateful glance, promising hell if she ever broke free. 

Bess struggled under her captors. She managed to break free but she was caught by Ned. “Let me go!” She roared. Ned rolled his eyes. “You will just hurt yourself if you continue like this. Stop!” Ned hissed and Bess stopped.

Chewbacca did not heed the call of the young Targaryen, he moved to strike the troopers and they struggled to keep him in line. “Oh for gods’ sake!” Lya said, annoyed that they couldn’t handle a simple wookie. But like them, she proved unable to handle the big creature.

It pushed her away. She fell on her bottom. Owen rushed in, unsheathing his sword. _Disgusting creature!_ He would kill it and force that rebel scum to see but Mary stopped him.

“Owen, that is enough.” His mother said then commanded, “You and Lya go back to your positions. Solo will be frozen regardless of what this thing does.”

Vader was proud of Mary. She sounded just like a Queen. A woman in charge, not afraid to put duty before useless sentimentality.

“If that thing moves again, shoot it.” Mary told the Stormtroopers then looked at Ned. “You have my permission to shoot it as well.”

Better that Ned took the shot, it would earn her good points on his lady mother’s eyes. After all, she always wanted her son to be a man. Now this was his chance to become like his father and his maternal ancestor, a dragon and a wolf through and through.

Bess said nothing, she wished she could reach her sister. _She is not your sister._ Her mind said. _Deep down, she still is._ She felt. And even if they were not related by blood, the moments they had shared when they were young would never go away. _But the woman in front of me is not Mary. She is someone else._ She forced herself to look away from the entire scene, choosing ignorance over knowledge for once.

The wookie was about to raise his fists at the troopers when Han shouted. “Chewie, no! Stop it, Chewbacca!”

Only Han Solo could deflect the maddened wookie from his battle. Straining against the hold of his guards, Han broke away from them and rushed over to break up the fight.

Vader signaled his guards to let Han go and signaled the battling Stormtroopers to stop the fight.

Han gripped the massive forearms of his hairy first mate to calm him down, then gave him a stern look.

 _“Seymours are dark wolves. We are strong. We know when to stop but once in a while we get devoured by our passions. Don’t let yourself get devoured by your passions Han.”_ His aunt had told him and his cousins, Cassandra and Miriam, when his old man had come from a mission, wounded. They were unsure he was going to survive but by the gods he did.  
_I must be strong as my lady aunt told me._ Han thought. So he pushed aside all fears and stopped his own trembling self to become the man that Thomas always dreamed his son would be.

Han and Chewbaca faced each other, the former looking grimly into his friend’s eyes. Gods, continue to give me your strength. For a moment that resilience in Han was broken as the two embraced tightly, but it came back and he took that opportunity to tell his friend, “Save your strength for another time, pal, when the odds are better.” He mustered a reassuring wink, but his hairy friend was grief-stricken and barked a mournful wail.

“Yeah,” Han said, with another grin, feeling hollow inside. “I know. I feel the same way. Keep well.” Han Solo turned to Lyanna Targaryen-Stark whose face had changed from one of contempt to lament. “You’d better chain him until it’s over.” He told her.

The subdued Chewbacca did not resist the young Targaryen-Stark and the Stormtrooper guards as they placed restraining bands around his wrists. Han gave his friend one final farewell hug, then turned to the rest of his friends. They understood. “My watch is over I guess.” He said with a playful smirk but no one told him how stupid he sounded. Leia didn’t fight him, Marion didn’t tell him to stop it with those stupid smirks, Mary didn’t laugh and Bess didn’t tell him to kiss Leia already. He had already kissed her aboard the Falcon when they were going to die but this was different.

Leia was let loose and ran into his arms then pressed her lips to his in a lingering kiss of passion. When their kiss ended, tears were in her eyes. “I love you.” She said softly, watching the only man she had ever given her heat to, be placed in the hydraulic platform. As it was lowered down, he said with his familiar cocky smile. “I know.”

More tears rolled down her cheek as the platform was further lowered down.

All he could see was darkness. As the machine was about to start, he heard Chewie roar one last farewell. He closed his eyes. A familiar voice whispered in his ear, _“don’t be afraid.”_ Memories of his childhood came back. Jane tucking him in bed. A distant one of his father expressing concern when Han began coughing blood. Is that fear in his eyes? He thought at the time. But when he got better there was no fear in his old man’s eyes, just annoyance.

Fiery liquid began to pour down into the pit in a great cascading shower of fluid and sparks.

Chewbacca half-turned from the horrifying spectacle, giving Threepio a better view of the process.

“They’re encasing him in carbonite,” the droid reported. “It’s high-quality alloy. Much better than my own. He should be quite well protected … That is, if he survived the freezing process.”

Chewbacca quickly glanced over his shoulder -as did Mary and Bess who hated everything robotic- silencing him with a death glare and a bark.

When the process was done, the plank was pushed back up. The figure had a recognizable human shape, but was featureless and rocky like a poorly made sculpture.

The Ugnaughts hoisted it into the casket shaped container. They then attached a boxlike electronic device to its side and stepped away.

Kneeling, Lando turned some knobs on the device and checked the gauge measuring the temperature of Han’s body. He sighed with relief. “He’s alive,” he informed Han’s anxious friends, then turned to Vader, Mary and Fett, “and in perfect hibernation.”

“He’s all yours bounty hunter.” Vader hissed. “Reset the chamber for the Skywalker siblings.”

“They are heading our way, lord Vader.” Owen informed him.

“See to it that they find their way here.”

“I will take what is mine now.” Lando told Vader, indicating Han’s friends. He was determined to whisk them out of Vader’s clutches before the Dark Lord reneged on their contract.

The dark lord however, as the former Inquisitor, had no intention of seeing these rebel traitors spared.

For Mary, seeing the last vestige of the dreaded Tyrells would be so good. She could feel a searing hotness curse through her body as she thought of the remaining Tyrell chit watching her last hope taken from her. _It's a shame that Cersei is not here to see her._ She would have loved to see the former Queen Mother watch her last loved one suffer. She hadn’t forgotten that incestuous bitch. She had been her mother’s ally. _She insulted me when she found out I married Anakin. Dared to call me a traitor to my mother’s ambitions right to my face. Now, if her and Margaery and Lady Olenna's ghosts are looking from above or below, they will see their precious adoptive daughter and granddaughter suffer at my hands_.

“Take them, but I am keeping a detachment of troops here to watch over them.”  Vader said.

“That was never a part of the deal!” Lando protested. “You said the Emperor wouldn’t interfere in Cloud City!”

“I’m altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it any further.”

Mary and Vader left the poor administrator to brood over the loss of his friend and his pitiful city. _Poor fool_.

Lando could not hold it any longer. The frustration, feelings of regret, and wishing to make amends for what he’d done, he chose to rebel.

* * *

 Luke and Kyra were caught off guard by Leia, Bess, Mary, the wookie, and Marion who yelled at them, informing them what they already knew.

“It is a trap!” Leia screamed again before they took her away. Luke and Kyra managed to shoot two Stormtroopers but it was not enough. Their friends were still in their clutches. As they ran towards them a strange force separated them, closing all doors that led to them. In the process, they lost sight of their two droids who managed to cross the doors before they were completely shut. Lando worked his magic, signaling his human machine, Lobot, via his arm bracelet, to tell the guards to meet them on the docking bay.

Leia didn’t believe for one second that Lando was being truthful. Neither did the rest of Han’s friends and they used the Wookie to put pressure on him and tell them everything he knew. When he did, the wookie released him.  
Bess asked about Luke and Kyra but Marion replied instead of Leia, that they had no time. They had to rescue Han first as he was closest to them. Unfortunately, that proved to be false as the Slave 1 was docked in a different place from where they had told Lando and by the time they got there, it was off with the frozen Han in tow.

* * *

 Keeping their blasters in their hands, Luke and Kyra walked into the carbon-freezing chamber. Mary stepped to greet them. “Welcome.” She said. “Kyra, you look so grown up. Is it Jane or Kyra that you prefer?”

Kyra unsheathed her lightsaber, so did Luke. They were not up for silly games. Mary smiled warmly then retreated into the shadows so Vader could emerge from them.

Vader ignited his lightsaber. They look like Anakin Skywalker, He thought as he gazed at the two of them, looking at them for the first time.

“The Force is strong with you, young Skywalkers,” He said from above, “but you are not Jedis yet.”

Vader’s words had a chilling effect on Kyra. Not on Luke though. He was not going to let this demon and that amoral she-devil take advantage of their weaknesses. That is what they do. He thought. They suck you dry, feeding you to the dark side of the Force. In that moment he used the words of a former Jedi Master Knight and these gave him strength. _“Use the Force only for knowledge and only for defense, not as a weapon. Don’t give into hate or anger. They lead the way to the dark side.”_

He wasn’t going to give into anger and hate, but he was going to let his spirits soar, using his love for his friends as his weapon to defend them from these evil beings.

He nodded at Kyra and the two celebrated heroes of the Rebel Alliance, charged at Vader.

* * *

 The little R2 unit re-routed the system so it would briefly obey him and told C-3PO to tell Lando that it was safe now to take the small microphone. Lando informed the people of Cloud City of Imperial presence. Immediately, the people began to run, looking for escape pods and ships.

“Let’s get moving. Come on!” Leia said, in that moment Pink chirped. “What is it?”

“It looks as if Pink is trying to say that we have a hostage.”

“What?” Leia asked. Pink moved to the shadows where the dead Stormtroopers were. Beneath them was a young man, about sixteen years old, give or take. Blond hair, fair face, and wearing an Imperial army uniform that was different from the other officers.

Mary’s son. They realized. Marion wanted to shoot him. It would give the woman a good lesson but then she thought against it. Let him be found out by his dragon-wolf lover and make an ass of himself after she discovers how he let us out of his sight. But Leia was having none of that. They were going to take him with them.

“He will only slow us down.”

“He comes. They won today, so do we.” Leia said with an imposing tone. Marion knew better than to argue with her friend. She and Bess carried him to the Falcon and put him in one spare room, locking it in case the Tudor bastard thought of escaping.

* * *

 Lightsabers clashed. Kyra and Luke were sweating. Vader proved too much for them. And they were fighting with him with his armor on. They didn’t want to think what he’d be like without it.

The two had barely escaped being frozen thanks to their training, but it only strengthened Vader’s resolve.

Kyra cloaked herself in memories of her aunt, while Luke continued to recall Obi Wan’s words. Gaining control of his feelings, and pushing the dangerous bug of doubt that Vader had implanted after he told him that he was weak as the Jedi, he began to advance, Kyra following close behind.

“Your hatred can give you two the power to destroy me,” Vader continued to tempt. “Use it.”

As Luke and Kyra approached, Vader slowly moved backwards in retreat. Mary was close behind, watching the scene with amazement. Her daughter fought like one of the amazons from the Greek tales she loved to hear and Luke! _That boy had such rage, such ferocity. If those two only used their brains, what glorious knights they would make._

Vader chose the darkness as his ally again and hid in the shadows, using his powers to make himself invisible to their minds. It didn’t last too long as Kyra noticed him and told Luke but before they could strike him down, he moved towards them and ignoring Mary’s cries who told him not to hurt them severely, he slashed at the two of them.

Luke and Kyra flinched. If they were still the two dirty farmers from Tatooine they would have groveled and begged for mercy. But they were Jedis now and they were not going to bend the knee to the dark lord.

“Attack, only by destroying me can you save your friends.” Vader taunted spreading his arms.

Kyra and Luke moved to attack but pieces of machinery hurled towards them. They used their telekinesis but it wasn’t as strong as Vader. The pain was a sharp obstacle in their paths and failing to stop them, they were thrown back against the large window, letting in the screaming wind. Suddenly everything in the room was blown about, and the fierce win lashed Luke’s body and filled the room with a banshee-like howl.

“You said you weren’t going to hurt them.” Mary cried walking towards Vader, thankful that she wasn’t wearing an excessive amount of dress, just the right stuff so she didn’t go flying. Vader turned to her, taking off his helmet, letting the Skywalker _twins_ see him, really see him, for the first time. He told her, “I said no such thing.” Then triumphantly with an arrogant smile on his face, walked towards them. “You are beaten. This is the face of the man you just confronted and lost to. You want to know the story behind these scars?” He pointed to two scars across his left eye.

Kyra didn’t want to look. It was enough that their father’s murderer and that woman had them at the mercy, now they wanted to see them cower. She imagined some monster but instead there was a man.

Seeing how his sister was not about to react, Luke took the initiative again and charged at Vader again. But Vader taking off his cape and the rest of his armor, leaving only dark uniform pants and long sleeved shirt, he willed his lightsaber from the floor where he threw his holster and ignited it, and sliced Luke’s arm with it.

“Luke!” Kyra screamed. She unsheathed her lightsaber again and clashed at Vader. Vader laughed every blow he took. It was pitiful but her rage was impressive. Her eyes flashed a bright blue and he recognized Melusina in her. _No doubt, Mary, the reincarnation of Melusina, left something in this girl._ Before she could unleash more of that rage, Vader used his telekinesis to push her a step back but she kept on trying to fight him.

Kyra glanced back at her brother. _“Always focus.”_ Master Yoda had told them but she couldn’t help it.

_Luke!_

_We are one. We have always been one._

His pain was her pain and vice-verse. In that brief moment of distraction Vader slashed her back. The burn she had earlier which had almost been healed was back and worse than ever. Kyra screamed, internally thinking to her aunt. Her warmth was transformed into an inferno.

Luke hugged her. Like two children, they huddled against their captors. As Vader and the Lady Mary advanced to them, Luke and Kyra retreated further back, letting go so they could grasp the beam.

Luke and Kyra looked at each other. _We’ve failed_. They came here with the intention to rescue their friends. They failed. They tried to become Jedi Knights and show off their prowess by defeating the dark lord of the Sith and the former Inquisitor. They failed.

They tried to suppress the pain but it was too excruciating. Luke smelled the terrible odor of his own seared flesh and squeezed his forearm beneath his armpit to try to stop the agony. Kyra for her part, tried to stop her mind from calling her Jane _. I am not that weak little girl._ But she was and like a little girl, she was wishing her aunt were here so she could comfort her with stories of princesses, princes, dragons, wolves and much more. I am so sorry aunt. I am so sorry. Unlike Luke, she didn’t have anything to clutch. Her back was killing her and no matter how much she used the Force to guide her, the pain made it impossible to focus.

Abruptly, ominously, the wind subsided. The two siblings looked up at the two figures, throwing rebellious -yet also pleading- glances. _Just get it over with!_

_ _

“There is no escape,” the Dark Lord of the Sith warned, looming over Luke and Kyra like a black angel of death. “Don’t make me destroy you. You are strong with the Force. Now you must learn to use the dark side. Join me and together we will be more powerful than the Emperor. Come, I will complete your training and we will rule the galaxy together.”

The Skywalker siblings refused to give in to Vader’s taunts and they cast a hateful glance at Mary as well who just there like a lost soul, watching the horror unfold. “We will never join you.” Luke said and Kyra echoed his sentiments, saying “We would rather die.”

“If you only knew the power of the dark side,” Vader continued. “Obi Wan and your teacher Queen Catherine never told you what happened to your parents, especially your father, did they?”

Mention of their father aroused their anger. “They told us enough!” Kyra yelled. “They told us you killed him.”

“And the Empire killed our mother as well.” Luke added, his eyes burning with hatred. It helped him fight off the pain.

“No,” Vader replied calmly, beaming proudly at his future handiwork as he was seconds away from delivering the truth that would crash the two young adults’ happy existence of a past that had never been from two figures who had lied to them for their protection. “I am your father.”

And that did it. Stunned, Luke stared with disbelief at the black-clad warrior and then pulled away at this revelation as did his sister. The four warriors stood staring at one another.

“No, no! That’s not true …” Luke said, speaking for both, refusing to believe what they’d just heard. “That’s impossible!”

“Search your feelings, you know it is true.” Then he added something that shook them to their very core. “Your mothers didn’t die by the Emperor’s hand. Padme Amidala, your mother Luke, died because of Obi Wan interference, your so called twin’s grandfather.”

“What? No! Kyra is my twin!”

Vader’s cold laughter invaded Luke’s brain. It was a sound that Luke would never be rid of as long as he lived. “Your mother and I loved each other very much Luke. She was the legendary Princess of Theed, Queen of Naboo and the Senator of the old Republic. But she changed. The Jedi changed her. After my former Master found out about our secret marriage he followed us and he became the cause of her death.”

“You’re lying!”

“Search your feelings son,” Vader said, letting that word sink into Luke. “You know it is true. Why do you think the Naberries have been so eager to get behind you two, especially you?”

“A-And me?” Kyra found her voice. Deep down, there was a dark voice telling her of something horrible. About the woman in her dreams who danced with a handsome Jedi Knight. A Princess with fair skin, blue eyes and dark auburn hair. _You know the truth._ That voice said. She did but she needed confirmation.

“Your mother hated Luke’s mother with an intensity that matches your own for me. Why don’t you come forward Mary?”

Mary took a step forward. Kyra, her mind yelled. And she allowed Kyra to see through her mind. The dances, the kisses she exchanged with Vader when he’d been Anakin Skywalker, their secret wedding, the discovery that he had already been married, and forcing to let her go then discovering her true parentage. She didn’t see that she and Luke had two other siblings or other important details. Those, Mary believed, would be better revealed when the two were in their power.

“Noooooo!!!!” Kyra screamed. “That is not true!” She said, repeating what her brother had said. She turned to Mary again. “Tell me it is not true!"

This was the woman who had convinced Vader to torture Marion, who celebrated Alderaan's destruction.

There was almost a hint of humanity in Mary’s eyes, the last candle in an otherwise grim fairy tale that had been her life, when she answered Jane Kyra. “I am afraid it is.”

“You … you are monsters!” Kyra screamed. She got closer to Luke. They looked at each other and nodded. _It is the only way._ Clutching their hands, they let go.

* * *

 

It is said that in death, you find release. But that is not what the Skywalker siblings found when they let go. Still hand in hand, they woke up to find that they were still alive and they were in the air vents. Thinking fast, they tried to find a way out. Just then a vent flew open and they were sucked out. Holding unto the antenna beneath the building, they cried, calling out to Leia, Marion and Bess, hoping they would hear them.

 

**A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger but chapter 19 will be the end of TESB. Luke and Kyra are not dead though it seems like that the moment, deep down though, they do feel as if they are dead. Their world has shattered. Please leave your comments, I want to hear your thoughts and also, do you guys think Mary qualifies for the worst mother of the year or is she on equal level with everyone here?**


	18. We Are Not Finished

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Rebellion's triumph turns to be short-lived, the Empire has given them a heavy blow and everything looks grim but in the middle of all the darkness, our heroes still find hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I recommend hearing the song Mad World, the version by Sarah Hickman. You will see why. A lot of tension, drama and angst in this chapter and hope.

_"All around me are familiar faces,_  
_worn out places,_  
_worn out faces_  
_bright and early for their daily races_  
_going nowhere, going nowhere_  
_their tears are filling up their glasses_  
_no expression, no expression_  
_hide my head I want to drown my sorrow_  
_no tomorrow, no tomorrow_

 _And I find it kind of funny,_  
_I find it kind of sad,_  
_that the dreams in which I am dying are the best I've ever had_  
_I find it hard to tell you_  
_I find it hard to take_  
_when people run in circles_  
_it's a very, very mad world_  
_Mad world ..._

 _Children waiting for the day they feel good_  
_Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday!_  
_Want to feel the way every child_  
_should sit and listen,_  
_sit and listen ..._  
_I went to school and I was very nervous_  
_no one knew me, no one knew me_  
_Hello Teacher, tell me what's my lesson?_  
_Look right through me_  
_**She** looked right through me ..._

 _And I find it kind of funny,_  
_I find it kind of sad,_  
_that the dreams in which I am dying are the best I've ever had_  
_I find it hard to tell you_  
_I find it hard to take_  
_when people run in circles_  
_it's a very, very mad world_  
**_Mad world ..."_ **  
**~Mad World by Sarah Hickman version.**

Death pays for life and life pays for death. But to Luke and Kyra it seemed the opposite. Death for death. Life for life. _Sun Twins_ They smirked at the same time. _What a laugh! We are not twins, we are not even full brother and sister._

The blood of their mothers cursed through their veins, two women fighting for the same side, in love with the same man. And that same man drove them to madness.

Luke cried. He seldom let tears show. People at the base said he was always cheerful, almost child-like. Queen Anne regarded him as an example for young men his age, while Queen Jane said that he the noblest of gentlemen. Kyra on the other hand hid her fragility behind a mask of roughness and playfulness. A playfulness that got her in trouble a lot but people paid it no heed.

The same two queens that regarded Luke as a gentle soul, though of Kyra as a brave one. She had left her childhood behind when their aunt and uncle were killed and after the blew up the death star.

People all over the galaxy saw them as the second coming. _“The saviors.” “The ones who were promised.”_ It was whispered. Luke and Kyra were never happy with these labels. To them and their friends, they were just Luke and Kyra. Two farm kids who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Luke could not remember his mother. He lied to Kyra saying he dreamt of her. But in all truth, he could not conjure a mental image of her. To him, she was just a ghost. A non-existent presence who lingered in the shadows, watching him from above. When Kyra spoke of her mother, he felt jealous. At least she remembers. Now he pitied her. His mother had been the legendary senator of Naboo who devoted her life in the service of others. A kind, brave and gentle soul. The same words that were used to describe Luke. He wondered if the two former Queen Consorts of England knew about their parentage.  
They had to. Why else would they treat us so special?

Why didn’t they tell them? Things could have been so easier if they spoke. But the greatest betrayal was felt by his sister. Closing his eyes, through their mental connection, he saw the memories that the Lady Mary had let her see.

_A beautiful young woman in love with a Jedi Knight. He promised her the world. She was everything a man could want in a wife and he had to have her but everyone opposed it, including her mother, her intended betrothed’s mother, and her stepmothers. She didn’t listen. They were happy … for a time.  
Then came another and this one took the blindfold off her eyes. _

Luke saw his mother for the first time. She is beautiful. He wanted to stay there, trapped in Kyra’s head forever. But she pulled him back. “It is all a dream.” She said numbly. “Just like our lives.

Luke wanted nothing more than to magically conjure his lightsaber out of thin air and find his way back to Vader - _our father_ \- so he could cut him down to pieces. And the Lady Mary … he would make her pay as well.

 _My mother died in childbirth while my sister’s was alive all along._ Where was she when Kyra was afraid? When she needed someone beside her brother and aunt?

 _Mayhap it is my mother’s fault._ The memories he’d seen showed a different story from what the Naberries told of their precious Padme. It shown a woman willing to fight for what was right, very much like their friends Leia, Marion and Elizabeth. But with a strong tone of arrogance. She didn’t see the plight of lesser beings than her. Never once, did she thought about stepping into other people’s shoes or think that maybe the reason people were on the _wrong_ side of the war was because they had no other choice. She sacrificed many lives for her ideals and she never regretted. _“All for the greater good.”_ She’d said. _“For democracy.”_

What had democracy done for the poor, for the desperate? It was now that Luke understood and that realization hit him like a ton of bricks. _All those people Kyra and I killed at the death star. How many of them had families?_ How many of them were just innocent men and women trying to make a living?

* * *

 

Ned ran in the direction where the rebels fled. He had to find them before Lya did. He feared the rage that would possess her once she found out that their best friend and her intended fiancé had been taken hostage. Worse! He feared what they would do to his friend.

_I should have been the one in charge._ He had been taken aback by the former Princess of England’s tongue-lash. He didn’t think that she had it in her. She looked so skinny and weak. _Like a china doll._ He thought when he gazed at her for the first time. But her words were sharper than steel. _It’s odd, she almost reminds me of mother, except without the poison that she leaves behind, killing her enemies from the inside._

His mother was known was one of the greatest strategists. Though she knew very little of war, she understood people very well and every time she spoke, she did it with the intention of planting seeds of doubt in her opponent’s mind so they’d be unsure and weak when the time came to strike.

But this girl was different. _No_ , he told himself _. Not a girl. A young woman_. He chuckled to himself, he always loved a challenge. And what did the bards say about love and war? He doubted the young woman was good at playing games the way his mother did, but if she was a true Tudor like she claimed, he would find their future encounter exciting. It wasn’t every day you meet a girl who isn’t afraid to talk to a Targaryen like that.

* * *

Owen groaned. _My head._ He passed a hand through his blond hair. _Bloody hell!_ His father was going to be so mad at him. Or worse, he will be mad at my mom. He hated the way his parents fought. He wished things could be simple, just as they were simple between his friends’ parents.

He was no dreamer. He knew that Jon and Sansa didn’t love each other but they made their relationship work for their children’s sake. Why can’t his be like that? And then it struck him, like it did every time he asked this question. _It’s because my parents are not married._

People never treated him differently though. Maybe Lady Sansa saw him differently, but to everyone else he was Owen Tudor, son of Lady Mary and Lord Arthur Tudor, one of the Emperor’s most trusted officers.

 _If my parents didn’t squabble all the time, their union would be one of the most powerful in the galaxy._ People whispered that his mother was many things, but to Owen he was simply “lady mother”, the mother who was not as present in his early years as he would have liked her to be, but who gave him everything that she didn’t have growing up. And to his father, he was golden boy, his prince.

 _If I was never born,_ he wondered, _would they still be together?_ He chuckled. Hardly. His father began to carry the portrait of his grandmother more and more and Owen saw how he saw his mother with disgust and regret. Owen thought that if he aced on this mission then his father would forget about his regret and his parents would be closer together. _But I failed._

He looked around. All he could make out was a small room with a bed and a small door that led to a bathroom. If he was claustrophobic, he would have been freaking out. Thankfully, his years at the Academy and under the supervision of Hux, had made him used to small spaces.

_So, I am a prisoner in a Rebel ship and probably going to be tortured or locked up or humiliated before other rebels on some god-forsaken planet._

It was better than meeting his grandparents. The thought of them seeing him, made him tremble. The pull of the light side was tempting, Emperor Palpatine and Vader always said. And like a snake, once it got you, it never let you go. It was why so many youths with Sith potential failed.  
Owen didn’t want to be among them. He was loyal to the Empire and to his parents. The Force cursed through his veins and although he wasn’t as strong with it as Vader was, he didn’t want to lose everything he had because of the light.

 _All I can do is wait._ He told himself as he collapsed on the small bed. As he stared at the ceiling he thought about Lya. _I guess this is the end of our short lived fairy tale._

He remembered the way she kissed him, the first time they made love, how she smiled when he was angry. How she dreamed of becoming the greatest warrior that ever lived. _Now, I will never see her again._

* * *

 

Mary watched helplessly as her daughter and her half-sibling were sucked into a large exhaust pipe in the side of the reactor shaft. When they vanished, Vader quickly turned and hurried off the platform, taking Mary’s arm before she did something stupid. Once in his guest chambers, she slapped him. The dark crystal in her ring scratched the side of his face where he had his two scars he’d gained during and after the clone wars.

Vader knew it was coming and he didn’t stop her. “You son of a bitch! You promised me you weren’t going to hurt them! I believed in you.” She had been a fool to think she could trust Vader. See, Mary? This is what happens when you trust the same man who betrayed you.

She thought he was past that. These were not petty officers or incompetent Admirals. These were his son and daughter. His own flesh and blood.

She raised her arms and began hitting his chest. Again, he didn’t stop her. I deserve this. He was not a hero. He never wanted to be the chosen one. It was a responsibility he resented.

Mary was so overtaken with grief that she couldn’t do it anymore and fell to her knees. Vader wanted to embrace her, take her in his arms. A memory of the two together, comforting one another after her father had forced her to sign the oath and he had lost some of his fellow Jedi in the war, came to him.

_“I know how hard it is. I lost my own mother a few years back thanks to savages. The Jedi just told me that dreams pass in time but every night I wake up thinking ‘what if I could have saved her.’ I don’t know what the future will bring you, but I know you are strong my lady and you can beat those savages.” He told her and wrapped his arms around her._

_They both felt safe and she told him, he was strong as well. “I am not. I pretend to be but I am not.” He revealed._

_“No, you are Anakin.” She said and they gazed at each other and kissed passionately. After morning came and they awoke in each other’s arms, she told him how he should shun the voices from his head._

_“How can I when I see their faces every day? Master Yoda keeps telling me that I need to live up to the mantle of the chosen one and Master Windu doesn’t trust me.”_

_“I trust you and so does Obi Wan and so does your apprentice. I don’t care what the Jedi say, you are Anakin Skywalker, a sweet young man who will do a difference, not because he is meant to, but because he will. There is goodness in your heart.”_

It was impossible to refute her. She -more than Padme- saw the light and the dark at conflict with each other in his soul and she didn’t berate him for it or forced him into a corner so he could decide which one he stuck with.

To her, he was human.

 _We were so naïve back then_. They thought that they could change the world through their friendship and then their love. And we would have if the Jedi, her mother and the other Queens didn’t get in the way.

His visions showed him a future where Padme died in childbirth. He didn’t prevent that. Padme ended up dying and Mary lived. For the longest time, Vader resented her. He wanted the future that was promised to him, he wanted to be the chosen next to his loved one. He tried to think of ways of bringing her back, consulting with Jon’s witch, and trying his own powers but every time he came to nothing.  
Padme was gone and the Force wasn’t going to bring her back.  
After he came to terms with her death, he began to see Mary in a new light. She wasn’t the innocent girl who dreamed of seeing the galaxy and being in love with her knight in shining armor. She was a cold, calculating woman who wanted it all and whose heart was filled with vengeance.  
The two finally found common ground and began to communicate with one another. Vader wanted to see worlds burn, so did she. But today, her resolve had been broken and it pained him to see her this weak, this pathetic.

 _Do it, Ani._ A lonely figure whispered behind him. She wished to make herself known. But she couldn’t. She feared the reaction her presence would cause on Mary and Anakin. Deep down she had deluded herself into believing that she and Anakin were meant to be, but, the truth was that after many years watching their offspring grow up alongside their half-siblings and Anakin and Mary turn into their worst nightmares, she realized nothing was meant to be. Anakin's love for her was a childhood infatuation just as hers for Anakin was born out of desperation for some sense of normalcy in a galaxy plagued by civil war.  
 _I should have let them be.. Mary had brought him respect and a sense of dignity and she was always there when he needed her. She was blunt as he was to her._ But she had been so jealous, seeing Anakin as a possession more than her husband that she could not help herself and hurt Mary on the spot, threatening to tell the whole world of her shame.

Vader felt a presence he had not felt in a long time. _Can it be?_ No, she was dead. It was just his imagination. Pushing all fantasies aside, he swallowed his pride and wrapped his arms around the sobbing woman.

* * *

 

“Beru … Beru …” Kyra whispered silently. “I am so sorry … Mommy …” She was so pathetic. _Deep down I am still Jane, the little farm girl from Tatooine who dreams of seeing the stars._  
_Oh aunt Beru …_ She sobbed. If she could wake up from this nightmare and find herself on Tatooine, she would not entertain fantasies of going into outer spaces looking for adventure.

“Adventure! Excitement! That is not the Jedi way.” Master Yoda had taught them. And like moths to the flame, they walked right into Vader and Lady Mary’s trap.

_My mother._

**No!**

Why was fate so cruel to them? They were always brother and sister. Twins. Born together, destined to die together. It was all a lie. They were half-brother and half-sister. That was the truth. Yet, even now amidst all this pain, they felt so close, like they were one being split into two.

Luke meanwhile called out to Kyra’s grandfather. It made sense why he had given her his master’s lightsaber. It was part of her inheritance just as our father’s lightsaber was mine. And now both of these artifacts were lost. It was funny, really. Their mothers had been enemies and yet they were so close they almost felt like they were one person (even now). But what was more funny was that they had been lied to by the people that swore to protect them and the liars had been the ones who were truthful.

If he wasn’t in so much pain he would have told his sister this and they both would have laughed but he focused on calling the old Jedi Master instead. He is too far. Luke then focused on another. “Leia, hear me.” Pitifully he cried out once again. “Leia.”

Kyra followed and as the two became one again, their concentration became better and the Princess aboard the Falcon with the former administrator of Cloud City and her friends, heard their call.

* * *

 

“It looks like three fighters,” Lando said to Chewbaca as they watched the computer screen configurations. “We can outdistance them easily,” he added, knowing the capabilities of the freighter as well as Han Solo did.

This hunk of junk is my old ship after all. If Han hadn’t beaten him at a game of Sabaac, he would still be flying this thing.

“Are you sure? They are far too close.” Bess asked, more concerned than half the people on this ship. She had been privy to the Empire’s awesome capabilities but not like this.

Mary Stuart tried to keep herself calm, remembering what her lady mother said before she sent her away, but as they were hit and were saved thanks to the ship’s weak shield, she failed miserably.

“Yes, I am going to miss it next time. I am sure of it.”

Everyone hoped he would, except for Leia who seemed to be in a daze. She didn’t acknowledge Lando’s comments or told Bess to stay put. Instead, she stared straight ahead as if transfixed. Then, out of her dreamlike trance, she spoke. “Luke … Kyra,” she said, as if responding to something she heard.

“What?” Lando asked.

Leia looked at Marion. She didn’t need to tell her former aide and best friend anything. Marion somehow understood.

“We’ve got to go back,” Marion said urgently, voicing Leia’s thoughts.

Leia turned to the Wookie. “Chewie, head for the bottom of the bottom of the city.”

Lando looked at the two women in astonishment. So did Bess Tudor and Mary Stuart. “Wait a minute. We’re not going back there!”

The Wookie barked, for once in agreement with Lando.

“No argument,” Leia said firmly, assuming the dignity of one accustomed to having her orders obeyed. “Just do it. That’s a command!”

“What about those fighters?” Lando argued, pointing to the three TIE fighters closing in on them.

Marion got in between him and Leia, showing the same courage her adoptive mother and grandmothers showed when they were faced with opposition. “You heard her. We go back or we go nowhere at all.” She said imperiously and looked to Chewbacca who growled menacingly at Lando.

The two former royals, Elizabeth and Mary Stuart, remained silent. It was clear who were in charge here. The three people watched as Leia and Marion and the Wookie took the controls and headed back.

* * *

 

Luke and Jane Kyra Skywalker were unaware of the Millenium Falcon’s approach. Barely conscious, they somehow maintained their hold on the creaking and swaying weather vane. The device bent under the weight of their body, then completely broke off from its foundation, and sent the two Skywalker siblings tumbling helplessly through the sky. This time, they knew, there would be nothing for them to cling as they fell.

“Look!” Lando exclaimed, indicating two figures plunging in the distance. “There are two people there.”

Bess brought a hand to her mouth and gasped. “It’s Luke and Kyra!” Mary Stuart cried.

“Lando,” Leia called, turning to him, “open the top hatch.”

As Lando rushed out of the cockpit, Bess and Mary Stuart looked at the impossible. The two were injured, badly burned. Luke was missing a limb, Kyra had what appeared to be a burnt mark on her back and yet they were still alive.

 _God be praised_ , the two thought while Marion just stared. When Leia felt their presence invade her mind, so did Marion and she felt the misery that cursed through both of them. _Why is it I can feel these things?_ She wondered. She was very confused but she had no time to think. Leia told her to meet her so the two could take Luke and Kyra to the infirmary.

~o~

Lando took Luke first, then Kyra.

Kyra screamed as she was placed on her belly. _Oh Force. Make it stop!_ “Kyra.” Luke whispered reaching for her hand. He was placed on the bed above hers. His hand was dropped and she weakly raised her hand to grasp his.

“Luke.” She responded, equally weak.

“Strap yourselves in.” They heard Leia say. Luke and Kyra let go. It would just be a second, they promised each other. They pressed a button and they were safely secured in their beds.

~o~

Chewbacca pulled back on the light-speed throttle, suddenly altering the sound of the ion engines. All aboard were praying in human and droid fashion (or for Marion who didn’t believe in any of this, crossing her fingers), that they system would work; they had no other hope of escape. But abruptly the sound choked and died and Chewbaca roared a howl of desperate frustration.

The system they promised they fixed, wasn’t. Again, they were with no hope.

~o~

From his Star Destroyer, Vader watched in fascination as the Millenium Falcon entered space, pursued by TIE fighters relentlessly. He sensed the passengers’ desperation, including his son and daughter. Mary was in his chambers, having been finally subdued.

He didn’t wear his armor. He had another one there. It didn’t feel right to hide his face anymore. The truth would be out and this was the face he wanted people to see now. The face of the fallen hero turned the most powerful man in the galaxy after the Emperor.

Despite his smile, Vader’s eyes betrayed a certain sadness as he felt the two young adults’ spirits slowly succumbing to their fate.

 _“One day I am going to see them all.”_ It was useless to think of the past. He was not that child anymore. Just as his offspring were not the people they thought they were.

But more memories of his past resurfaced as he sensed his daughter’s desperation. He could hear her mental cries, calling out to her aunt Beru and her uncle Owen.

 ** _Kyra_** , he called out to her then to Luke. Luke, eager to hear him asked **“father?”** while Kyra trembled. **_Kyra everything will be alright._** But his daughter didn’t want to listen. She was like Mary yet she wasn’t.

 _She is just a child_ , he realized. She had been innocent, pure until he and her mother corrupted her. The more he heard her cries, the more he remembered. His past, his dreams and how he felt complete when he was with Mary.

~o~

“I won’t be able to resist much longer. How are those repairs going?” Lando called out to Chewbacca and Marion. Marion wasn’t a pilot but she knew enough to help the Wookie.

Eventually, they fixed what was wrong thanks to R2 and Pink.

“Alright, punch it!” Marion roared.

Lando did, and everyone strapped themselves in as they went into hyperspace, escaping the Emperor’s right hand man’s clutches.

* * *

 

Darth Vader stood silently. He gazed at the black void where, a moment before, the Millenium Falcon had been. His deep silence brought terror to the two men standing near him. Admiral Piett and his captain waited, chills of fear coursing through their bodies, and wondered how soon they would feel the invisible, viselike talons around their throats.

But the Dark Lord did not move. He stood silently contemplative, with his hands behind his back.

Piett preferred to have been in the presence of his armored self rather than his true one. A human face was a mix of emotions but when a face projected nothing, it instilled fear for to be human was to feel, and Vader without his mask on, projected an ever more terrifying prospect.

As Piett mentally prayed to the old gods of his home, bracing himself for what was about to come, fate surprised him. Vader turned to his new Admiral, congratulating him on his earlier work and told him he would expect a report on his desk in three hours then walked away.

* * *

 

The Millenium Falcon was at last safely docked on a huge Rebel cruiser. Gleaming in the distance was a glorious red glow that radiated from a large red star -a glow that shed its crimson light on the battered hull of the small freighter craft.

Luke and Kyra Skywalker rested in the medical center of the Rebel Star Cruiser, where they were attended by the surgeon droids.

Luke had a new arm, complete with synthetic skin that made it seem like it was his real arm. Kyra meanwhile just got out of surgery and her back was as good as new. Part inorganic, part organic.

 _Odd,_ the two siblings thought. They were still human yet they felt different. Like a part of them was missing.

  
They saw Leia followed by a newly repaired Threepio, R2 and Pink, entering the medical center to check their progress, and perhaps, bring them a little cheer. But Luke and Kyra’s best therapy they had received aboard the cruiser was each other. Leia was as radiant as ever with a white gown and her hair up, and a shining smile but she didn’t seem anywhere near as beautiful as his recovered sister. _Half-sister_ , his brain corrected him. _It doesn’t matter, she will always be a part of me._

Raising his hand off he showed it off to his sister who smiled at him as did Leia and the people who entered, Bess, Mary Stuart and Marion Tyrell.

Luke pushed a button in his comlink as it beeped. It was Lando. “Luke, we are ready for takeoff.”

Lando sat in the Millenium Falcon’s pilot’s chair. He had missesd his old freighter, but now that he was once again its captain, he felt quite uncomfortable. In his co-pilot’s chair, the great Wookie Chewbacca noticed his new captain’s discomfort while he began to throw the switches to ready the ship for takeoff.

Kyra and Luke wished him well and saw a spec of what had been the Falcon sped up into the wilderness. Lando promised Leia that they’d find Han. Leia didn’t doubt it, but hope didn’t seem as bright as it was before.

**~o~**

** **

In the room next to theirs was the Rebel’s hostage, Owen Tudor. The youth had been told the worst possible news imaginable.

“Lady Catherine and Master Obi Wan Kenobi will be seeing you soon.”

“The General and the whore? That is great.” He said knowing that name calling would cause a reaction from the Rebels.

“I’d suggest to abstain yourself from referring to the Lady Catherine and General Kenobi in such manner.” Marion said, fighting the urge to slap him.

“Can I at least get a courtesy cup of water or something? You rebels are supposed to be better than us when it comes to prisoners, are you not?” He asked smugly.

"You don't know that your mother is the biggest whore in the galaxy and you her precious jewel whom she'd lose her mind for?"

"And you don't know that your adoptive grandmother Cersei Lannister was the second." He responded. "I grew up in the Imperial court, I know all about sarcasm so let's cut to the chase. You want to make me feel guilty for what my mother did which is what exactly? Falling in love?" He grinned. "So she did, so she had a daughter. Your precious rebels just told me and as much as it pains me to know that my half sister is in the other room, I won't flinch or cry in agony to the likes of you."

Marion turned to the rebel guards. “If he says one more smart ass comment you have my permission to shoot him.”

Owen smirked. She was a feisty one but he wasn’t going to be cowed by this woman. Just then another woman entered, the one whom Ned had restrained when they were freezing Solo.

“Lady Bess, good to see someone with class.”

Bess felt sympathy for this youth. He was Mary’s son. Her only son. It wasn’t his fault that he was here but nevertheless she had to be firm. “You will eat with us, dine with us and until your grandparents arrive-“

“They’re not my grandparents.”

“You will listen to what we have to say.” Bess finished, not minding his interruption. “Understood, lord Tudor?”

“Yes.” Owen said and before Bess left, he called out. “It is Owen.”

“Owen. Good to know. We will get to know each other very well Owen. You will like it here.” She promised and somehow he had this weird sense that he could trust her. _Weird, she isn’t blood related to my lady mother at all._ But she was related to her father. He was her uncle and therefore, Owen was her cousin. _Maybe that is why I feel like I can trust her._ Nevertheless, he could not afford to fall prey to her mind games _. I have Lya to think of._ If her parents suspected one whiff of treason from him, they would agree to marry her daughter to Hux or some other old bloke and she’d be lost to him forever. And then there was his mother. His father would blame her for it and knowing him, he would never forgive her.

* * *

 

Thomas couldn’t bring himself to see the Princess or the Skywalker half-siblings. He couldn’t even bring himself to see Jane and his sister in law with his nieces.

_I have lost everything._

_ _

Now he had really hit rock bottom. He locked himself in a room, clutching his chest. He had known something was wrong when he was aboard their ship and felt a stab in his gut.

Han was lost to them. He began to laugh. The Princess promised him that they would find him. With her fake smile and her rosy cheeks, she pretended to know his pain but what did she know of pain? She was a royal, she had been given everything since she was a baby. She never knew what it was like to hide and see your loved ones die until now.

Thomas sat on the floor. His mother always said that God would punish him one day for his wickedness. Edward had been her favorite. Han’s mother was right. Thomas had been the black sheep of the family, yet he was the one girls flocked to the most and he reveled in their touch because it made him feel whole, because it brought him a sense of unity he didn’t have with his family.

_I thought that Han would be my one chance at redemption. What a fool I was._

With nothing more but his memories, the man’s mad laughter turned into cries.

* * *

 

Arthur was furious. “You sent our son away to that dangerous mission.”

“It was not my fault. He just showed up.”

“Then whose fault is it Mary? Do you see our son, here? Do you? He will die by your precious father’s hand thanks to you.”

“My son will not die. If he touches one hair of his head-“

“You will what? Open your legs and kiss him and moan Anakin, Anakin like you always want to when you are with me? Don’t think I haven’t seen how you two look at each other."

"I would never sully myself-"

"You already have the minute you were stupid enough to believe that Anakin Skywalker, the chosen one, the man conceived by the Force could ever love you. How did getting your daughter back work? Is she with you?”

Mary said nothing. Tears rolled from her eyes.

 _Good_ , Arthur thought. He wanted to see her suffer. The more he was with her, the sicker he got. She is not Catherine. “The only good thing you ever gave me was our son and now he is gone!”

“He is not gone. I have felt him just as I have felt Kyra. He is alive, if we work together-“ She touched his arm but he pushed her away. She fell on the floor.

Arthur didn’t even feel sorry. She was so annoying, so pathetic. He just wanted to take her, here and now and hope that the sweat and the fluids would be enough to make him forget where he was and who he was not with.

“You know it is funny how stupid people from Earth are. The Protestants believe Anne Boleyn is the savior while the Catholiics you and your mother were. None of them ever stop to think that deep down we are all wretched, undeserving of mercy and second chances. They however are stupid people who can afford to be because of their religion and their love over figures who are not worth their time because they have nothing better to do, you on the other hand are not as stupid as you pretend to be so tell me, was it all worth it?”

“I just wanted to see my daughter, Arthur.”

“And did you?” She nodded. “Was she happy to see that her mother was you? Was she happy to see that her mother was the woman who has worked with the Empire and helped make her friends’ lives more miserable?”

“Stop!”

“Was she happy to know that her mother was afraid to meet her face to face, that she is a bastard just her mother and that her dearest brother is really her half-brother?”

“Please, just stop it!”

Arthur laughed cruelly _. No wonder the Protestants loved torturing Mary. It is so much fun. I have to give it to them, for being so self-righteous, they sure know how to inflict psychological pain._ “Your daughter hates you and our son is dead and now the entire galaxy will hate you more. You have nothing and you know why? Because you are nothing.” He said and as she stood, he threw her on the bed.

Mary did not know this but there was a pompous woman by the name of Anne Askew who believed that all heretics should be reformed or else be put in prison or to death. Of course by heretics she meant Catholics and non-Christians. Arthur used her, promised he’d promote her nonsense and then when the time came to show her that she was really a tool, she freaked and tried to escape him but he captured her and tortured her for days until he broke her legs, and made her see the dogs eat one “heretic” child. Anne Askew didn’t know the boy was Catholic so she naturally screamed _“Stop!”_ many times but Arthur didn’t until the woman fell down to her knees and offered to trade places with his victim. The boy was barely alive and Arthur told him to tell Anne his faith. Anne’s face said it all. Arthur asked her if she was going to let the child die because he was a “heretic”? For the first time, Anne began to doubt her faith. That had been the pay off. Not so much seeing Anne and the child suffer at his hands, but their faiths tested and abandoning it when they realized god was a myth.  
Reginald and Margaret Pole were other ones. He had so much fun with those two. Reginald begged him to bring Mary so she could tell him he was loyal but Arthur told him the truth -that the Emperor didn’t trust Mary anymore and that he was leaving the “cleansing” of royals to him. And what better way than to wipe remaining royals than to play games using their faith against them? He called the game “is there a god?” And he did it to everyone, including none-believers. They’d all crumble, agreeing that there was none god or (in the case of the non-believers) that there was one and that they were suffering because they didn’t believe in him.  
_This is what makes me just. Unlike others I do not show preference to one's faith, one group of people, or status_. To Arthur, they were all the same and deserved the same treatment.

Mary was afraid Arthur would do something worse than hit her. Arthur advanced dangerously to the bed but as he was about to climb, he stopped, gave her one look of disgust then turned and left.

**~o~**

As Sansa watched Arthur leave a frightened Mary, Sansa emerged from the shadows. Her servants were gone. She had no one. What was better, her son was gone. Sansa turned on her heel and left, a sinister smile on her lips.

How the tides had turned. The Rebels had their greatest weapon but thanks to the Lady Mary's foolishness and Vader's delusions of grandeur, Owen Tudor was out of the way, in Rebel hands, and the Rebellion was in tatters.


	19. Beaten Not Broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our heroes faced betrayal, they are still recovering from the loss of a dear friend and amidst all this pain, they find a silver lining in the least possible place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This marks the end of The Empire Strikes Back. But it won't be the end of this story. Our heroes are not done fighting :)  
> I recommend listening to the song "Go First" by Damien Jurado for this chapter.

_"Are you alright?_  
_You're making me nervous_  
_with how much you leave me here_  
_Is it a sign?_  
_I don't feel like ever getting well_  
_Tell me the lie, take me to trial_  
_Over and over ..._  
_Tell me the lie, take me to trial_  
_Over and over ..._

 _My closest friends live on the side of_  
_where you now divide_  
_Is it a sign?_  
_I don't feel like ever getting well_

 _You can go first, you're making me nervous_  
_with how much you leave me here_  
_Is it a sign?_  
_I don't feel we're ever getting well_  
_Tell me the lie, take me to trial_  
_Over and over ..._  
_Tell me the lie, take me to trial_  
_Over and over ..._  
_Tell me the lie, take me to trial_  
_Over and over ..._  
_Tell me the lie, take me to trial_  
_Over and over ..."_

**~Go First by Damien Jurado**

**~o~**

Piett sighed as he looked down at the reports. The Lady Mary shall be confined to her rooms until further notice. He thought about telling the Emperor through Vader but the dark lord of the Sith had bigger problems. Besides, Firmus had learned from Tarkin not to get involved in his superiors’ personal matters.

 _Yet,_ it felt wrong. He walked to his office where a picture of his dead wife lay under his data pad.

Antri Lord. Supposedly she was descended from the first human settlers on Axxila. Firmus never believed that but it was a good story and Firmus humored her telling her that when his service was over, they’d buy a house on the other side of the planet where the first settlement had been.

She loved to talk about everything. It didn’t matter if it was something as simple as food or an animal he had stumbled upon on his way to their ship. The two had been a move for so long that they no longer had a concept of ‘home.’ Now the idea of settling down seemed even more remote.

He placed the picture back in his pocket. Vader was a man who wished to see his officers free from distractions, this included family. Until Bespin, Piett believed it was because of the Force but following what he heard from one of his aides whom Firmus had sent to spy on Vader and the Lady Mary, he realized it was something different.

“He shouldn’t be jealous.” He said to himself. “We have nothing. We have all lost more than our fair share.” And losing a loved one was not something to be jealous. The rebels with their sentimentality loved to say that it was better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. But for someone like Firmus and so many on the base who had lost everything due to duty, it seemed like a bad deal.

“I should be focusing on overseeing the Executor.” He took his position seriously. Though his ambitions to become Grand Moff had perished after he found out the truth about Vader, he intended to excel in his current position. And given the current situation, he had no choice. In his current state, who knew what Vader would do if he made a mistake.

* * *

 

Anne told Elizabeth to make sure that Owen was prepared for his grandparents. Apparently his cousin was the only one he listened and Anne needed the boy to be ready. Catherine and Obi Wan had been nervous about seeing their grandson. Anne didn’t blame them. She’d be too.

Bess told her that Owen was ready. Anne nodded and told her daughter to leave him alone.

“Is it safe? What if he tries to scape?” Bess asked her lady mother.

“He won’t. We have sensors. If he tries to go anywhere near the escape pods our systems will alert the R2 units which will in turn alert the troops.”

“Good to know.” Bess said, more to herself. Owen didn’t strike her as the combative type but he had a strong spirit and like Bess, he wasn’t afraid to speak his mind. _He’s a Tudor through and through._

After mother and daughter, Catherine and Obi Wan came out of their rooms and headed to Owen’s _room._ Unlike other prisoners, he was treated like a guest of honor.

Catherine breathed deeply. She had seen him in the holo news, but she wanted to see him with her own eyes. Obi Wan was anxious as well. He passed a hand through his gray hairs. Times like these, vanity overcame him. He looked at his lover. Catherine as Anne Boleyn and Arthur Tudor would be like this for years to come. The aging process had been slowed for them. The Kamino cloners knew what they were doing and for that Obi Wan felt a pang of sadness because although she said that nothing would keep them apart, one thing would.  
_You can’t beat the clock._ When Obi Wan’s time came, he feared for his lover. Secretly, he feared for their daughter as well. He had tried to push thoughts of Mary aside. She was lost to them, another servant of evil, but every time he saw Catherine he couldn’t help but reminded of the girl who dreamed of greatness.

Owen was impatient. So when am I supposed to meet these people? They clearly have no sense of time. He grinned. It was a good thing that Lya and Ned’s parents were not here. They were very delicate when it came to punctuality. The two detested tardiness. One of Lady Sansa’s servants had been dismissed for being late one minute.

 _Good thing I am not a Targaryen,_ he thought sitting back into his chair.

When the metallic door finally opened, he sighed with relief. “Finally.” He said in a nonchalant tone but his eyes told them of the frustration that had taken ahold of him for the past thirty minutes.

“So you want to talk? Talk.” He said, not bothering to hear of their personal stories. All that was boring, he went to straight to business as his father would if he was faced with similar opponents.

He has the Tudor temper, Obi Wan thought, though the youth also had the impatience that characterized Obi Wan in his padawan years.

“I am sure that you have no desire to see us but we do. Your lady mother and your lord father have surrendered themselves to the dark side. The Rebellion could use a young man such as you who is not afraid to fight for what is right.”

“Not much of a pep-talker are you? My mother and father are fighting for the Empire, my friends are with the Empire. I am with the Empire. Why would I betray them?” He asked his grandfather.

“Because you’d be saving your friends if you do.” Catherine spoke. Unlike Obi Wan, she didn’t have the patience for this youth’s arrogance. Her daughter had clearly let him run wild and whoever taught him at the Imperial Academy, did no better. “You are aware of what the Empire has done to the senate, the galaxy.”

“It has brought order. What did we have before? A bunch of kings and queens on earth conspiring like mad men to see who would wear a useless crown? If you think that is worth fighting for, I won’t try to dissuade you but personally, it is pathetic. How many men and women died for your petty squabbles against Anne Boleyn because they believed with all their hearts you were the true queen? Or for Anne Boleyn because the other side was convinced that she was a genuine reformer and her daughter was the true princess? It is pathetic. Earth is a much better place because of the Emperor.”

“It is not.” Catherine said. “People are dying every day on the streets, public executions have become more common.”

“Sometimes in order to establish order, the tree of justice must be stained with rivers of blood.” Owen said, quoting directly from two Christian philosophers, one she knew and another who sided with Anne. “Those who are loyal to the Empire are rewarded greatly. How many women have risen through the ranks thanks to my parents, thanks to Lord Vader, thanks to the Emperor? Women who were previously commoners serving the likes of the queens of Westeros, England, who had to rely on royal charity and what some fanatics said on the street? There is no need to fear for one’s safety. Criminals are punished and everyone is happy.”

“You don’t believe that.” Catherine said.

“I do. And even if I did not, it does not matter what I believe. I have been to England and last year they burned paintings of Anne crying ‘death to all the miserable women who saw us as nothing’ and then they burned your painting, Jane’s and those that came before you.”

“And you are content with that?” Catherine asked incredulously.

“Yes. Because the people don’t need pretty faces promising them heaven when they have able officers giving them opportunity. Could you, Anne or Jane ever offer them that? No, right. We can.”

“And tell me, what if someone speaks one word, just one against the Empire?” Catherine asked. “What then? Do you know what they did to Anne Boleyn’s family?” She asked again. Catherine had no love for Anne but she came to respect her even if she still considered her the same harlot who stole her position. The woman had done a lot for her and Obi Wan and her daughter was someone many rebels looked up. “How they tortured them, beat them until they couldn’t speak a word?”

“I know and I know what they did to your cousin lady grandmother. How they forced him to watch his son die at Grand Moff Tarkin’s hands. His mother screamed for mercy ‘stop, take me instead’ but it was too late. My cousin stopped breathing and when they finally came for the Emperor, he was already a broken man.”

“And you think that is fair?” Obi Wan asked, not in the single least appalled by what the Empire had done.

“No, but their deaths were not in vain. Spain as the rest of Earth is now a commercial hub. People have broken their chains.”

“And exchanged them for others.” Obi Wan said, surprising the youth.

“We do not enslave-“

“The Empire your parents serve targets those who are unable to defend themselves, instilling fear and distrust in the hearts of its citizens. That is not peace, it is tyranny. The Mandalore still do as they please with their people and others can get promotions thanks to their family name. So it looks as nothing has changed.”

“Everything has changed. My lord father promotes those who are worthy, so does my lady mother and Lord Vader. They protect and serve.”

“Serve who? The Emperor. A man who abused his authority in the Senate, who ordered the Moffs to execute the remaining Senators before the completion of the Death Star and their families-“

“It was necessary! He needed to establish order!”

“And who has no qualms about destroying countless of innocents lives by constructing such monstrosities.”

“And what about what the Jedi did? What about my lady mother? Who protected her when you forced her to give up her child? Where were you when she needed a father? When her supposed father forced her to sign that act declaring herself a bastard and she had no one except Anakin? Where were the Jedi then? Millions of people perished during the great war when the white walkers advanced South. You didn’t lift a finger. They would have taken over your world had it not been for Emperor Palpatine and what about the people Charles V enslaved from the new world. I never saw one preacher raise his voice and condemn the Kings who were issuing orders to ‘re-educate’ them. Or better yet, what about the rest of Europe or the whole damn world that was being torn apart because a certain few disagreed over matters of worship? Too busy?”

“The Jedi were not perfect, we had many flaws and we paid for those but this is not the answer. People are rising up because they don’t want to live in fear.”

Owen wanted to argue but deep down, his grandfather was right. Despite their recent loss, the number of people who joined the Rebellion had increased in the last four years. Since my half-sister and her half-brother blew up the Death Star.

“I can’t help you.” Owen said. Even if the seed of doubt had taken root in his brain, making him question everything his parents and he and his friends fought for, he couldn’t do that to them. “I will not sign their death warrant or mine.”

“Perhaps it is not them you worry for the most or you.” Obi Wan said and Owen scoffed. He closed his eyes. He sensed a strong concern in him, and as he concentrated more, he found it. “I can’t say that you will triumph if you join us but will you succeed if you stay with them?”

“I have been tutored by the best.”

“That is not what I am talking about. You don’t want to abandon the Empire because you wish to remain close to her.”

Owen narrowed his eyes. It soon dawned on him what his grandfather had done and he walked menacingly towards him and said, “Don’t you dare get her involved in this. Who gave you permission to pry into my mind?”

“I didn’t have to. Your mind is like an open book in your current state. It is why Jedi taught their pupils to clear their mind so they wouldn’t be at the mercy of their enemies.”

“I have no wish to be a Jedi.”

“You have a lot of potential in you Owen, the Force runs through your veins. It is your legacy. You and the Skywalkers could bring back the Jedi Order, it could be a new one. One free of the mistakes that tore down mine.” Obi Wan then added, “And your friends, Eddard and Lyanna could help you rebuild it.”

“Keep them out of this.”

“They are strong in the Force as well. The new Jedi Order will be free of the mistakes that plagued first one. It could offer everyone a new dawn.”

“From what? Order? Security?” Owen snorted. “Even if I agree, there will always be people who will look up to the Empire and what it has brought them. That is never going to go away.”

“Not right away, no. But in time those dreams will be replaced with new ones.”

“You are delusional. My father said that you were crazy but I didn’t think this crazy. What makes you think that Lya and Ned are going to agree? They are just as loyal as I am.”

“Because he is your friend and she loves you. They will follow you.”

“You love Lya, don’t you Owen? If she sees the true nature of the Empire then she will fight for us.” Catherine said, knowing where to hook him.

“Lya doesn’t need to see the true nature of anything. What we have been taught is the truth. She believes in the Empire as I do.” He agreed with his friend Ned that their methods were extreme, but necessary nevertheless as it always provided them with results.

“If we return you to the Empire, what will her parents think, especially Lady Sansa? She considers you a bastard born out of a bastard woman. She will think it is very suspicious that you escaped without a scratch. Even her husband will think so and he will inform the Empire and your parents’ love won’t be enough to protect you from his wrath.”

“The Emperor trusts my father.”

“Does he? The Emperor keeps everyone under a tight leash, as soon as your father serves his purpose he will replace him with someone else. Same goes for you and your friends. You have a big heart but the Emperor needs people who have no moral qualms and if you were to go back and somehow reinstated into his service, he would never trust you three and in time he would dispose of you. Where would that leave your mother?”

Owen opened his mouth to say something but his grandmother beat him to it. “Leave him Ben, let’s let Owen decide. He is right, it is no business of ours.” Catherine and Obi Wan exited his quarters, leaving him alone again. Only this time, the locks of his room were switched off.

* * *

 

People often wonder why the good stay silent when bad things happen or why they turn into the monsters they tried to destroy. What can make a good person go mad? The answer is never a simple one. But Kyra was sure that if there ever was one, Kyra did not want to find out. She had felt Luke very closed to the dark side after Vader told them the truth. It scared her.

The door opened, Owen came in and sat next to her _. So this is my half-sister. She is good looking, but a plain Jane like her first name. A little older than him. Four or five from what he heard. I don’t see cause for celebrating her. She doesn’t look special to me._

He remembered what Bess told him. “ _You will eat with us, dine with us.”_ She made it sound like something to look forward to, but these people were the enemy. Why did it all have to be so confusing? Why couldn’t she be a foul-mouthed rough neck like some of the other rebels and hold a gun to his head? It would make it much easier, but she was none of those things. Kyra just stared at the book she was reading. An old tale about knights in shining armor, flawed heroes and tragic heroines.

Owen decided to start there but Kyra didn’t let him start. “You’ve come to gloat?” She asked in a nonchalant way.

Owen shook his head.

“You’ve met them, haven’t you?” He nodded. She didn’t need to ask who. “Special aren’t they? Were they open to you?”

“Yes.”

A tear fell down her eye. “They protected me and Luke. Queen Catherine was our mentor. She was a school teacher, the best one we’ve ever had. They never told us anything about our parents except that our father was called the hero with no fear and that people looked up to him. Owen tried to talk her out of it but my teach-grandmother” she forced herself to say, “had a mind of her own and then all of this happened.” She turned to Owen, putting the book down. “Be thankful they were truthful to you.”

He could hear the resentment in her voice. She looked so peaceful one second but became hostile the next. Owen knew what to do. He went back to his room and took from his pocket one of the few things the Rebels hadn’t taken and brought it back to her. He thrust in her hand.

“What is this?” She looked down on the trinket. It was a locket with a red glow inside. “You brought me poison?”

“Do not be so suspicious. The Rebels checked me for that before I woke up. If it was poison you’d be dead by now or suffering from loss of consciousness or your nose would bleed.” He informed her.

“So what is this?” She asked him.

“That’s for you to find out. Don’t be afraid, just open it.”

She didn’t trust him. He was Mary’s son. _My brother._ **_No!_** She argued with herself. _I have one brother and his brief turn to the dark side is because of this boy’s mother._ She looked at him closely. He was just a teenager. A child, she realized. He had the Tudor eyes as his cousin Bess, but his hair was blond as their Woodville ancestors. He probably has a lot of girls after him. But from what she could remember he only had eyes for one.

“Look, I will open it and peer inside and if I am not dead in the next two seconds then you get to see it. Deal?”

She nodded. It sounded reasonable.

He opened it and leaned forward. She waited for the next two seconds for something to happen but nothing did. “See? Nothing, now it’s your turn.” He said, closing it and giving it back to her.

She opened it and looked closer. She was amazed by the dancing of stars and kings and queens she saw.

Owen smiled, the first genuine smile he had since he was brought here. “It is called the dance of stars. It’s not very original but it is a name that has stuck since the times of the first Jedi. Legend has it that when they found Earth, they intended to make it a new outpost and build a new academy. It would be called **Foundation**.”

“What happened?” Kyra asked, completely hooked on his tale.

He shrugged. “No one knows. Some say that they found forces of darkness. This was around the same time the children of the forest created the white walkers. After they abandoned it, they came back. This time, Earth was thriving and there were many kingdoms. Some that didn’t know of each other’s existence. The Jedi tried not to intervene but it was impossible. They became enchanted by terrestrial culture so they made sure to record everything in these devices. It tells the story of every king and queen, and every ill-fated love.” He turned it around and the images changed to those of their ancestors, Isabella and Fernando.

“Are those?” He nodded. “They look so different from their portraits.”

“That is because our lady great-grandmother didn’t want people to see her true self. She was afraid that if people saw her beauty, they wouldn’t take her seriously so she had the artists make her look pious. Not that she wasn’t” he immediately defended, “but she wasn’t as her portraits depict her. And well, her husband needs no introduction. You probably heard all about his looks and how he had every woman in the kingdom.”

“Like you could if you wanted.” Kyra said, sharing a small smile with her half-sibling.

“Yeah, I supposed I could, couldn’t I? But then that would be boring. Sex should be with someone special and I found the right girl to spend the rest of my life with.”

“She is very special to have you, then.” She said in a small voice. The sadness returned as the images changed and projected the last English kings and consorts.

“You are not alone. Your grandparents … our grandparents I suppose … I am not going to defend what they did but they love you. Believe me, I may be evil incarnate to you-“

“I never said you were.”

“You don’t have to. Most people on the base want to take it on me for what our mother did.”

“She is not my mother.”

“That is the same thing I told my cousin Bess about our grandparents. It doesn’t help. We must face the consequences of our elders’ actions. My mother did what she did for survival and so did our grandparents. They wouldn’t have gone through all this trouble if you and Luke didn’t mean something to them.” He said, then, in the same fashion as former Queen Catherine, he rose and said “I will leave you in peace. I am in the room next door. I won’t be going anywhere, believe me.”

“Thanks.” Kyra said before he left.

“You are welcome. I will see you at dinner.” Owen said smiling at her again.

* * *

Sansa comforted her daughter. “He is in Rebel hands now Lya, we can’t do anything.”

“Of course you can. You must find it in your hearts to save him.” Lya protested. She turned to her father. “You told me we do not bow, we do not ask. We take. Let’s strike at the Rebels while their fleet is weak and take Owen back with us. He doesn’t belong there.”

“Some might disagree with that. According to our spies, he has been given special quarters aboard one of their ships and is treated like a guest of honor by his grandparents.” Sansa said.

“If there is any suspicion on the part of the Emperor that he’s sided with the Rebels, I will have to take action and so will Vader.”

“No!” Lya screamed. Her father was an honorable man. He didn’t enjoy torture but if he had to, he would do it. Vader on the other hand, would not think twice about it.

“Lya, Owen had his chance. He disobeyed his father and now he’s reaping what he sowed, so is his mother for letting him stay with you and Eddard.” Her father said harshly. It was the first time he had talked to his daughter like this. Inwardly he was seething at Sansa. This was not the time to smirk or chastise their daughter, but part of him felt it was the right thing to do.  
Owen Tudor had been foolish. His son and daughter were ready for this mission. It was why Vader had asked for them because they had experience. Owen had been sheltered for so long by his parents that the little experience he had was no good. He had never seen torture or combat like this. It’s his fault he landed himself in his mess. He was sorry for his parents, but the boy had no one to blame for himself. If Jon found that the boy succumbed to his grandparents and the rebels’ machinations, he would have to finish him off _. Lya will never forgive me for it._ But it was his duty. He had to think about what was best for their family _._  
I am a soldier. I was raised among roughnecks. I know how hard it is, Lya doesn’t because she has never had to face loss until now. With time Lya would forget the boy and move on.  
He sighed and embraced his daughter. “I promise if he turns …”

“No…” She sobbed, fearing what her lord father would say.

“I will make sure he doesn’t suffer.” He finished and Lya sobbed harder. Her parents left her and it was up to her brother, Ned, to catch her as she fell.

* * *

After an uneasy dinner, Kyra and Luke joined Leia on the main hall. Mary Stuart, Marion Tyrell, Bess Tudor and a reluctant Owen Tudor joined them as well. All eight of them stared off into space, at the red cluster of stars in front of them.

They needed no words in this moment. Marion knew that Leia’s mind and hear were with Han, no matter where he was or what his fate might be. As to her own destiny, she hated standing next to Mary Tudor’s spawn but she put up with it for her friends’ sake. There were a lot of things running through everyone's heads. Mary Stuart and Bess Tudor began to see things differently. They began to doubt whether they would ever see their home again, or if the Rebellion would win.  Owen could only think of his Lya. _I was selfish, he thought. I should have listen to my father_. Had he, his mother would not be facing humiliation in the tabloids, and she and his father might have had a chance at reconciliation. Moreover, he would be celebrating with Ned and Lya.  
Kyra and Luke for their part, clasped hands. Regardless of who their mothers were, they were still brother and sister and as they tightened their hold on one another, they made a silent vow that nothing would keep them apart.


	20. Enter the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The past is a dangerous thing and it becomes ruthless when it is used against you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Return of the Jedi was all about the past coming back to haunt everyone. The themes of redemption and family were strong there and that is what I liked about the movie. While it wasn't the best in the OT, the themes made it good. And while next chapters don't take place in episode 6, they are leading the way to the OT's conclusion and in the spirit of it, there will be a lost of introspection and flashbacks.  
> Everyone else excited because they made Grand Admiral Thrawn CANON? I was so happy because he is such a bad ass in the EU/Legends. I hope that they take advantage of that universe and introduce more elements to the new canon. So because of that, I have also chosen to introduce him and he is the same as he was shown in the season 3 trailer of Rebels and in the EU's books, cold, detached but also elegant, extremely intelligent and ruthless.

_“Fade away_  
Drifting into the emptiness  
getting lost within myself  
nothing matters, no one else  
I have lost the will to live  
simply nothing more to give  
there is nothing more for me.  
Need the end to set me free.”  
**~Fade to Black by Metallica**

“We need someone who can understand them, who will cause us less trouble and who will be discreet.” Captain Carina Sanders said to the Emperor.

The Emperor slowly rose from his seat. Elegant, poised, the man seemed to belong to a forgotten era. He whispered to one of his aides then returned his attention to Captain Sanders. He smiled evilly. “I have the perfect being in mind.” He paused then continued. “Captain Sanders you have served the Empire well.”

“I am His Highness’ loyal servant.” She said dutifully. There was no doubt in the Emperor’s mind that Carina Sanders was one of the few men and women in his service whom he could trust. She was loyal as they came. If he asked her to give her life for him, she would.

“Good. You will continue to prove yourself to me.”

“Your Highness?”

“To address your first concern. The rebels ae not that hard to discern but their heroes are. If they became broken, people would see them as you and I see them, as nothing more than human. Luckily for us there is a man who can get us the results we seek. You will go to him personally and relay my message. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Your Highness. Who is this man I am looking for?”

“One of our best. Grand Admiral Thrawn.”

* * *

Thrawn’s red eyes looked at the holograms of the people he had killed, tortured throughout the years. Now Carina Sanders told him the Emperor wanted him to take care of more rebels. “These are different.” She said. “The Emperor needs your absolute discretion.”

“He will have it, although, why are you really here Captain Sanders? If His Highness wanted, he could have sent me a holo image of them, or better yet, send me a text. He must have a special use for you. Perhaps he is testing you. Perhaps he no longer trusts Vader and he wants someone more … loyal to take the people he promoted, posts.”

“Perhaps or perhaps he is playing with us as is his way.” Carina said.

“You have spirit and you know the nature of this game. We will get along very well.” Thrawn said, liking this woman more by the second. “But I need to know more about you.”

“What do you need to know?”

“Everything. Starting with how a terrestrial rose through the ranks. It is unheard of. Most of the terrestrials defect to the Rebellion after years of Imperial training. What makes you so different?”

“My life is here, my future is here.” Carina said.  Thrawn tilted his head, signaling her to elaborate. “When I was five, my mother started to do penitence. People called her a whore because she had me out of wedlock. I never knew my father, all she could tell me was that he was some nobleman. She would walk barefoot to church every day. One day, the Queen happened to be there. She relayed to my mother her plight. I was hiding behind the pew and I could hear as the Queen with her fake smile told her ‘my child, we are all creatures of god. If it is his will for you to learn this way, then you must respect his wishes.’ She gave criminals jewels but she couldn’t even bear to look at my mother except to remind her of her sins. Then a new queen came. My mother became convinced that the new faith would help here where the old didn’t and went to her again. But the new queen gave her the same answer, only this time she gave her an English bible, offering to give her lessons through one of her priests.”

Thrawn chuckled. He always found religious people and their hypocrisy hilarious but this was pure gold. “And did they give your mother those free lessons?”

“Yes, but they weren’t free. In return, the Queen demanded my mother to bring me to her. I served Anne Boleyn for a thousand days. I counted each one of them. Every day I would address her as Her Majesty and every night I would be reminded of my mother’s sin and be told by Henry VIII’s new queen to pray for my soul so I wouldn’t grow up stained as my lady mother.”

“When did you join the Empire?”

“After Henry VIII was captured. My mother fled to Scotland where Protestant and Catholic preachers joined for once to fight the newly formed Empire. My mother sent me a letter, asking me to join here. As any dutiful daughter, I did. But on my way there I found them burning “heretics”. Soon they started killing each other. My mother was part of it, I saw how she lifted a six year old girl by her hair and called her an unbeliever then threw her across the room. She died the minute her head hit the stone floor and so did my mother. The girl’s father, a fat Catholic priest, stabbed my mother in the chest and he was about to stab me as well but then the clone troopers came and saved me.”

“And you swore you would serve the Empire.”

“Not just the Empire but the Emperor. I’ve seen what the terrestrials are capable, nobody understands them better than someone who’s lived among them and grown accustomed to their customs. Had it not been for the Emperor I would have grown up to be a perfect faithful subject of King Henry or my mother’s new priests, obeying without question, bowing my head and smiling when being told.”

“And you don’t consider yourself a slave to the Emperor?”

“No, but then again … aren’t we all slaves to one master, Sir?”

He smiled. He was definitely going to like working with her.

“You are absolutely right but some are bigger pawns than others and currently you and I are on the top of the food chain with the Emperor and Vader just an inch above us.” Thrawn explained. He pushed some buttons and a holo-image of Princess Leia, Marion Tyrell with their friends appeared. “Take these women for example. They have never known poverty; they do not know what it is like to be stripped of everything. Leia Organa lost a planet but she had her precious rebellion and her friends to keep her company. Imagine if she were to lose so much more. Whom she’d turn to? As for the rest, they will face the true horrors of what you and others like you have faced.”  Thrawn said.

“It is not vengeance I seek.”

“Of course you do not. No one is here because they wish to be but you can’t tell me it has never crossed your mind to take from these people what they took from you.” Thrawn said, his red eyes flashing brighter as the holo-images were enlarged to show these four women’s faces. Princess Leia, Ladies Marion, Bess and Mary Stuart. “To understand an enemy you must learn more than their battle tactics, you must know their art, their history and their motivations. Only then can you defeat them” he turned to Carina again, “by tearing them from within.”

* * *

 

 **_Owen Lars_ ** _never imagined he and Beru would have been taking care of his stepbrother’s offspring but here they were, looking after Luke and Jane Kyra Skywalker._

_He watched the two take their first steps on the sand. Play with each other, call him and Beru aunt and uncle. Then one day he found Jane Kyra alone._

_The seven-year-old smiled at her uncle. “Will you play with me?” She asked him. He nodded and grabbed her blocks and began building a castle so she’d focus on her dolls. He and Beru didn’t have much but what they had was precious to them. The dolls were their gifts to Jane, in an effort to make her more into the lady that Beru aspired she’d be._

_“I am the Queen of the Castle and the Warrior.” She said putting a paper crown on her doll.” Her fake hair was up in a bun and on her hand was a paper sword while her other one held a paper shield._

_Owen chuckled. “Princesses are not warriors and you can’t be a Princess and a Queen at the same time.” He explained but she shook her head and gave him a long sermon of why she could because of a book she read in class. “If you say so, then.”  He said, knowing better than to argue with a stubborn seven-year-old._

_After a while he asked her, “Why didn’t you go with your aunt and your brother to the market?”_

_“I didn’t feel like it. I wanted to stay here and play with my new toys.” She said. “Plus, I could keep you company.”_

_Owen would be lying to himself if he didn’t admit that statement made him happy. “That is very kind of you Jane.”_

_“Uncle?”_

_“Yes?”_

_“Will you ever tell me and Luke about our parents?”_

_“When you’re older I promise I will.” Owen said, cursing himself for making that type of promise. His father was a hardened man but one good thing he learned from Cliegg Lars was never make a promise you were never going to keep. But seeing the longing in Jane’s eyes every time he or Beru picked them from school and saw the other kids grab their parents’ hands, stirred something within him. He was fortunate to have known both of his parents and have a good woman like Jane’s grandmother love him as if he was his own._

_He and Beru tried very hard to make Jane and Luke feel like this was their home but they were failing. ‘Luke and Jane’s destiny lies elsewhere’ he kept reminding itself. He didn’t want either of them to leave. Not because of the galaxy or some blasted prophecy, but because he loved them and didn’t want to see others take advantage of them like they’d taken advantage of their father and respective mothers._

_“I am older now.”_

_“Not old enough. Jane, I said I promised and I will.” Jane nodded and went back to her dolls and the fake castle he built. “One day I am going to be Queen.” She said, trying to do a grown up voice as she lifted her doll and placed her on top of the castle. “I am Queen.” She cried triumphantly._

_Owen smiled at his niece. She was a lot like Anakin. So was Luke, but Jane was different than her brother. While Luke dreamed of adventure and exploration, Jane just cared about her brother and making other people happy. When she brought the Queen down from her castle to address her ‘subjects’ she said that she would be a good Queen who would give them all food and look after them as a good ruler should.  
He found it kind of funny -and sad- that out of the two, it was Jane (whose mother was still living) that inherited all of their father’s good traits. There was no malice in her bones. When Luke thought about beating some of the children who insulted them in school, Jane would stop him and tell him that was wrong._

_‘She is the better part of her family.’ He thought. It gave him more incentive to keep up with the lie that Obi Wan Kenobi had made him and Beru agree on._

_‘If they never leave this rock, they will never know the truth and they will never have to face the horrors their parents face. Moreover,’ thought Owen, ‘they will never be tempted by the dark side.’_

_After Jane became exhausted and yawned, Owen took her in his arms took her to her room. She was lighter than Luke. If it weren’t for her long hair, nobody would tell them apart. When they were four, Jane cut her hair and played games with their teachers, giving everyone at their school a headache. They tried the same with him and Beru but they weren’t so easily fooled. Owen knew who they were instantly and told them to change their clothes. They refused and continued to do the same trick until they were six.  
Jane wasn’t aware that she had put her arms around his neck and whispered “Daddy” before placing her on her bed._

_Owen turned away from her sleeping form. He didn’t want to think much of that She could have mistaken him from her father which she no doubt saw in her dreams._

_‘Or perhaps she meant it.’_

_No, she couldn’t have._

_Owen turned off the lights, the automatic door slid behind him. He didn’t get lost in dreams. He lived for the here and now. Whatever destiny awaited her and her brother, it mattered very little to him. In his world, destiny didn’t exist. The life that Luke and Jane were born to, was a life of hardship but it was a better one than the one that had corrupted their father._

_He sighed and returned his attention to the vaporators. If this didn’t get fix, it would cost him more later._

* * *

Ned was tired of waiting. His sister did nothing but cry and in true fashion of her namesake, she rebuffed another suitor and threatened to kill him. _Well at least now I know why the cadets were afraid of fighting._ It was a shame that most of them defected to the Rebellion and those that were still with them didn't get to the rank of Captain because of his parents and the  _merciful_ Lord Vader.

He sighed. She was not going to come out.

 _Why bother?_ And he didn't want to force her because she'd challenge him to a duel and he always knew how those went. 

He left their apartment and ordered her troops to scour the city. If Coruscant had one Rebel, they'd find him and make him talk.

* * *

Inside her room Lya looked at the smiling picture of her and Owen. Her lady mother told her to be strong like the women in her family but she couldn't. Owen was the only one who made her laugh and she was tired of meeting these suitors. She wasn't some cow they could just sell someone to. How could her father even agree to this?

He only cares about duty, not you. She levitated her brush. Although she wasn't as strong as the late Inquisitors, the lady Mary, Lord Vader or even Owen, she understood the Force very well and was blessed by it. She just didn't use it because she didn't see a good reason to. She believed steel and blasters worked better when it came to subduing your enemy. But now she began to rethink that. As with many things, she began to tell herself that maybe she was wrong about everything.

If the lady Melisandre were here she'd tell her not to be afraid, that this was a test. But what kind of god or Force, would be this cruel?

* * *

 

Marion took off her helmet. She had been learning more about sparring since Han's capture. Lando had been nice enough to give her lessons. And then there was her wife who was more than happy to be her private instructor.

Marion had gotten very good at it. She finally understood the thrill that cursed behind Doreah's veins every time she fought an enemy. But she was careful not to let that excitement take over her. The last thing she needed was be like one of their new recruits who knew nothing better than to shoot and charge at the enemy, thinking they were going to go down in the Galactic Annals as heroes.

She got off from her speeder and entered the bar. If there was one place that had some information about Solo was this one. She hoped that this so called "Maz" would not be as pig-headed as all the others, and she'd be more like Han and his ilk whose only interest was money.

Dusting off her hair she walked into the pirate's bar. _It is rather obnoxious of the pirate to have a statue of herself._ She thought. There were all kinds of species here, not surprisingly, many of them on the Empire's most wanted list.

Brushing off aside Leia's concerns for her earlier, she sat on one of the tables, waiting for the yellow-skinned alien to greet her.

* * *

 

 

Princess Leia talked to her friend via their com-link through a secure line. Marion had been successful in finding one of Han's old  _friends_. Unfortunately, there wasn't much Maz Kanata could tell them. Going to Jabba's palace wasn't an option.

Leia was hopeful that Maz would have provided them with the codes they needed to break in and rescue Han, but the pirate seemed reluctant to get involved.

 _Even if it means for a dear friend._ Leia thought, hate fueling her as she remembered the last kiss she and Han shared before he was frozen in carbonite. Her hatred for Vader and the Emperor was the only thing that kept her going. That and finding Han.

Luke and Kyra had returned differently. Revealing that truth about their parentage hadn't come easily to them but Leia appreciated their honesty. So did everyone on the base. To them, they were still the Sun Twins, their heroes and nothing Vader or Lady Mary said or did, was ever going to change that.

Yet, something had changed. The two Skywalker half-siblings saw Vader with different eyes. They were reluctant to attend meetings when their assassination was discussed. At one point, Kyra said it was murder and Leia and Marion had to remind her what her father had done to countless of innocents.

Leia thought herself lucky. Even though she was adopted, she never had to be afraid of her parents. Queen Breha and Senator Bail Organa gave her everything a child desired and treated her better than most royals treated their offspring. She wished that Luke and Kyra would have had the same so they didn't have to go through this. On the other hand, Leia could not dwell on it too much. Everyone had a job to do and if they didn't find Han, then all of his efforts would have been in vain.

 

 

 


	21. The Pieces Start to Fall Into Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As our heroes become hardened, some still find hope in each other while their elders begin to have doubts.

_“See the animal_  
_in his cage that you built_  
_Are you sure what side you’re on?_  
_Better not look him too closely_  
_in the eye._  
_Are you sure what side of the glass you’re on?_

 _See the safety of the life_  
_you have built._  
_Everything where it belongs._  
_Feel the hollowness inside of your heart_  
_And it’s all_  
_right where it belongs_

 _What if everything around you_  
_isn’t quite as it seems?_  
_What if all the world_  
_you think you know_  
_is an elaborate dream?_

 _When you look at your reflection_  
_Is that all you want to be?_  
_What if you could look_  
_right through the cracks?_  
_Would you find yourself_  
_afraid to see?_

 _What if all the world’s inside_  
_of your head_  
_just creations of your own?_

 _The devils and your gods_  
_all the living and the dead_  
_And you’re really all alone_

 _You can live in this illusion_  
_You can choose to believe_  
_You keep looking but_  
_you can’t find the words_  
_Are you hiding in the trees?_

 _What if everything around you_  
_isn’t quite as it seems?_  
_What if all the world you used to know_  
_is an elaborate dream?_  
_And if you look at your reflection_  
_is that all you want to be?_  
_What if you could look right through the cracks_  
_would you find yourself afraid to see?”_

**~Right Where It Belongs by Nine Inch Nails**

_“Treat a Queen like a whore and a whore like a Queen. Nothing can go wrong.”_

**~Alien 3 (Director’s Cut) 1992**

**~o~**

Bess asked Marion if she looked at the survey. Marion shook her head. “Sir Thomas is taking care of it. I have more important things to tend to. There is a new lead on Jakku.”

“Jakku? For real? That junkyard?” Bess asked incredulously.

“Yes. Some guy by the name of Starkiller.”

“Starkiller?”

“Yes.”

“As in Jendrick Starkiller, Vader’s apprentice?”

“Yes but he is not his apprentice anymore. After the Emperor found out he’d been training someone in secret, he made sure to retire him. Apparently his agents failed because accord to one of our leads he is still alive and well.”

“Are you sure it is safe to meet him? I heard he is very strong.”

“I am sure, besides, with the free lessons I’ve been getting from Lando and Doreah, I will be fine. Don’t worry about it Bess, I will be back in time for the celebrations.” Marion said, referring to the Battle of Yavin IV victory sixth anniversary. “I wouldn’t miss them for anything in the galaxy.”

* * *

Bess was worried about her friend. Marion had become more hardened since Cloud City and Leia more distant. It looked as if her and Mary Stuart were the only ones that remained unchanged.

She pulled on her coat and emerged from the bunker. In spite of her red hair, her face wasn’t that recognizable and there was no Imperial patrol at this hour in Coruscant. But just in case, she had a blaster and a dagger and unlike her friend Mary who squirmed at the idea, Bess was ready to take on any Imperial if it came to that.

* * *

Ned told his men to leave. “I will take it from here.” He was tired and his informant had been wrong. Coruscant’s lower levels were completely free of any Rebel sympathizer. The night-clubs were jet-packed with freighter pilots, drug-dealers, hookers and other undesirables.

Might as well. He walked into one of them and ordered an English ale. They were very rare these days and he was charged extra for just a pint.

Unknown to him, the young woman who had caught his attention in Cloud City was behind him, watching the ball game on the big screen.

* * *

 

 _Boring,_ thought Bess. _Back in England men played while the women watched. It was far more civilized and productive_. Here, it was the machines who were doing all the work. The people who participated in these big sporting events wore helmets and were well protected. It took all the fun from it. Yet people still gambled and spent huge amounts of money. If Bess had that much money she would bet as well but alas, she was on a budget and could not afford to waste everything on such vanities like last time. Her lady mother had been so angry that she had spent all their credits on clothes and alcohol that she didn’t talk to her for weeks. For Bess, this was the worst kind of punishment that could come from her mother.

* * *

Ned turned around as someone screamed **“Victory!”** He shook his head. These idiots. Didn’t they know they were bigger things happening in the galaxy right now? How could anyone rest so easy?

Ignorance was bliss.

He was surprised to see one person being perfectly still, reading a book, unabated by the noise. Looking closer, he realized this was Lady Bess Tudor.

My good luck. He pretended to be an interested suitor, offering to buy her a drink. She kindly rebuffed him and asked him to leave her be, but when he insisted she looked up and gasped.

“You?”

“Yes, me. Who else it’d be? Seriously of all the places to bring a book, you bring one here?”

“I love reading and it just so happened this is one of the few translations of the bible your people didn’t burn.”

“My people?” She nodded, her eyes blazing with fury. _She looks cute when she is angry_ , he thought. “You mean the Imperials who rescued many orphans Kings and Queens used as pawns in their religious games then yes, guilty as charged.”

“You are impossible, you know that.” Bess said, unable to suppress a chuckle when Ned gave her an arrogant grin. “Why are you here? Are you going to arrest me?”

“I could if I wanted to but fortunately for you I am bored and tired and I am not in the mood for it in the moment. If I catch you here again, I will.”

“I believe you.” Bess said. “So are you going to buy me a drink or what?” He nodded and asked the bartender to come. He paid for two of his finest selection. Dornish and Burgundian wine.

“I didn’t think these were still available. It must have cost you a lot.”

“Don’t worry about it Princess, I have more than enough.” Ned said. “Now that we’ve broken the ice, mind telling me why you’re here? It’s not safe for young women to travel without an escort at this time.”

“I have everything I need in my bag.” She said pulling out a dagger and a blaster and showing the other dagger she had attached to her belt. “And to answer your first question, it just seemed right. I guess like you, I am tired and bored and needed one girl’s night out.”

“Away from your friends? That doesn’t sound like you.”

“What do you know about me?”

“I know that you and Mary Stuart are practically linked at the hip, you spend a lot of time with Princess Leia and Marion Tyrell, and now you are obsessed with my best friend.” Ned said.

“You’ve done your homework. Congratulations but there is a lot more about me you don’t know lord Eddard.”

“Please call me Eddard or Ned. I don’t like titles.”

“Why not? It’s your inheritance. One day you will be the next Grand Moff or lord of Winterfell and other territories on Earth.”

“When that happens I will be addressed by military titles, not by outdated aristocratic ones.” Ned said.

“Owen said the same thing.”

“That's because Owen is like me. How is he?”

“Took him? He made his own bed when he decided to cast his fate with your lot. In any case, he doesn’t belong to you or anyone. You have my word that he is unharmed.”

“My sister would not believe that. She swore revenge.”

“Then she will have to wait because Owen is not going anywhere.”

Ned chuckled.

“What?”

“You rebels astound me. You think you can convince Owen to switch sides but Owen is his own man. He has been raised to be the perfect Imperial since birth, same as me. He will never betray the Empire.”

“We shall see about that.” Bess said, fairly sure about herself. Owen was her cousin and if there was one person that could dissuade him besides his grandparents, was her.

“You are a bold woman, Lady Elizabeth but you don’t know Owen as I do. He is my friend and he is as loyal as they get.”

“Are you so sure about that?” Bess challenged him. “When he finds what the Emperor has done, he will change his mind.”

“He knows what the Emperor has done, we all do.”

“I am sure you don’t. You said I don’t know your friend, and you are right but I am his family, same as his grandparents and his half-sister. Nothing is stronger than that.”

“Except the bond between a mother and a son, or a father and his son.” He pointed out. “I am not going to pretend to know anything about that. My sister and I have never gotten along with our parents but there is mutual respect between us, with Owen though, it runs deeper than that. He has always been eager to prove himself to his parents, especially his father and when the Emperor releases the photos about his mother, the bruises on her back, her cheek despite her poor attempts to cover it up, I am sure he will come running back to us.”

“How can you do that?” Bess asked, horrified that he could be speaking so plainly about Mary’s abuse. “Be so peaceful while Owen’s mother is being mistreated by that monster?”

“I am not the one hitting her so why should I feel any guilt. Besides, the lady Mary sealed her fate when she allowed Owen to come with us. Any good woman would know her place.”

“Any good woman would want her son to make her proud. Mary is many things but you can’t accuse her of being foolish when all she ever wanted was family.”

“I can. I am doing it right now. We all have our cards to play. Some play it better than others, and others are too impatient that they waste them right away. Your sister is one of those.”

“She is not my sister.” Bess said. “She stopped being my sister when she got involved with Arthur and betrayed everything she stood for but I still love her and I refuse to sit idly by while she is in pain.”

Ned smirked. “You terrestrials are really somethings special.” He drank the last bit of his wine then rose. “If you see Owen tell him my sister sends her love and that I will see him next time. Farewell Princess, don’t be a stranger.” He turned but then turned back when something came to his mind. “If I were you, I would really dye my hair. Not to be rude but people in Coruscant have a thing for red heads. I can’t see anything attractive. I think it is an odd color but some people are crazy.”

Bess opened her mouth, her eyes piercing his. All he could do was laugh and leave before she made a scene.

~o~

Kyra asked Luke if he was ready to go another round with her. “Sure.” The two sparred. Luke’s movements were better but she was faster and far more calculating, but when it came to tricking her opponent and using anger as their fuel to charge at them, Luke always bested her.

Kyra breathed hard, Luke had her on the ground. He gave her a ‘I beat you gesture’ which made her roll her eyes. Luke’s eyes were turned to the door, thinking he had heard someone call for them. Kyra took this chance to grab him and pin him to the ground inverting their positions. And to show him that she had won this time, she took out her lightsaber and pushed it close to his neck. “Just say the word little brother and I will turn this on.”

He grinned. “Fine, you win this round.”

She offered him a hand, he took it and groaning, the two went straight to the showers. People still thought it was odd that the two did everything together, even after they knew the truth. They clearly do not know us. Luke and Kyra had a bond that couldn’t be broken. Twins or no twins, they had the same father and were equally strong in the Force. Besides, the two didn’t feel comfortable when they were alone.

“Have you thought about what we are going to say to the Naberries?” Kyra asked getting in the first shower next to Luke’s.

Luke shook his head turning on the hot water. “Not really. If you want to, I can ask Leia or Marion to return from their mission and meet them.”

“No, I don’t want to bother the two while they are on the field and besides, they asked for us. Let’s show them how courteous Skywalkers are.” Kyra said, keeping her fear hidden behind a smile. But Luke could see right through her but said nothing as she turned her back to him.

When the time came to see the Naberries. They were surprised to find the patriarch and matriarch as strong as ever, sporting regal robes that belonged to a forgotten era of aristocracy, bearing smiles on their otherwise serious faces.

“My lord, my lady.” Luke and Kyra said simultaneously, bowing their heads to them and their nieces.

My cousins, thought Luke grimly. He didn’t feel any connection to these two women. Pooja and Ryo Naberrie. They took after Luke’s mother and their own, yet their eyes had none of their kindness despite their open smiles.

“You do not have to address us in such a fashion. We are simply Ruwee and Jobal. You have no idea how excited we are to finally meet the Sun Twins.” The Naberrie matriarch said, flashing another smile as her eyes centered on Kyra.

“I am afraid that term is no longer any use for that term since Luke and I are not really twins.” Kyra said, lamenting that fact.

“We are well aware of that but we don’t care what the holo news say, to us you are family, even you dear. Anakin made our daughter very happy. It wasn’t his fault that he was seduced by the dark side. He was young and inexperienced, your mother on the other hand has done many terrible things knowingly.”

“Grandmother maybe we shouldn’t be discussing this now.” Pooja said.

“Why not?” Ruwee asked. “Your lady grandmother is right. When we met the lady Mary we thought of befriending her, she was the Eighth sister, an Inquisitor and we were rewarded with her scorn. Our family hasn’t been the same since your mother’s death Luke but we have managed and poured all our hopes that one day your father would be redeemed. She would have wanted that.” The old man put a hand on Luke’s shoulder.

“Thank you sir but Kyra and I are not Jedis yet.”

“You will be. We have confidence in that.” Ruwee said with a sweet smile. “Your father was not the chosen for no reason. If he could pass the trials at a young age then so can you. You just have to wait.”

Jobal. “You must tell us all about your adventures. It is one thing to hear it from the Rebels or on the holo news where it is nothing but Imperial propaganda, we want to hear it from the heroes’ mouths themselves.” Jobal said.

* * *

“What do you think of the Naberries?” Kyra asked her brother as they stared at the roof, their backs against the mattress of their joint bed. “They seemed nice, don’t they?”

“Yes, they do but …”

“But what?”

“I don’t trust them.” Luke said turning to her.

“I don’t trust them either but they have been financing the rebellion and for our friends’ sake we must keep them happy.”

“Easier said than done. We should be focusing our energies on Han not on pleasing these … these … stuck ups.”

“Luke we are doing everything we can. Marion has been working her ass off looking for leads while Leia is trying to hold it together.”

“Clearly, they aren’t working hard enough.”

The derision in his voice bothered her. “This isn’t like you, tell me what is really bothering you.”

Ever since Vader and the Lady Mary revealed the truth to us, I have started having visions of our mothers and in every vision I see how your mother turned to the dark side because of mine.

“So? We can’t let our feelings get in the way. Remember what Master Yoda, what Obi Wan said.”

“I know! But … Force damn it, I am tired Kyra. I am tired of having to please everyone and having to live up to something I didn’t ask to in the first place.”

Kyra was silent. She understood exactly what Luke meant. Ever since that incident, she dreamt of nothing else but their aunt and uncle. How ungrateful she’d been to them and how she wished she could turn back time and avoid buying those droids that brought them nothing but misery. _But then I wouldn’t have known the truth._ Was the truth worth knowing though? Her uncle preferred her to live a life of ignorance. She thought he was a caveman for wanting that, now she saw the reason behind his thinking.

“You know, some days I wish we could go back to the moisture farm. Just you, me Owen and Beru. No droids, no talk of destiny, the Force, the light or the dark side. It would be just the four of us living in peace but then I wake up and I find ourselves here.” She said. There were tears on her eyes. “I know exactly how you feel Luke and I wish things could go back to the way things were. I wish we didn’t have to face these nightmares but it is the way the galaxy works. Nothing is ever fair.”

“That makes me feel so much better.”

“It is not supposed to make you feel better Luke, I know you are angry, we are all angry at what happened but people are counting on us. We must be their heroes, otherwise who are they going to look for guidance?”

Anyone else. He was tired of being everyone’s hero. He would have preferred to be just another pilot. A regular soldier would suffice him now.

She clutched his hand. “We have to do this Luke if not for them then for us. If you go down the same path as our father, you will be lost and I have already lost too much. I don’t want to lose you too.”

“You will never lose me. I made a promise to you on that day that we would always be together no matter what and I intend to keep it.” Luke said and surprising Kyra, he let go of her hand and touched her face with both hands, and kissed her.

Kyra didn’t know what to say. She had always been jealous when Luke looked at other women but she had never acted on her feelings because it felt wrong. Her aunt and uncle must have known because at one point, they tried to keep them separate but she and Luke always found each other. But even then, they never took their relationship to the next level.

Somehow as Luke deepened the kiss, reason went flying out the window and suddenly loving her brother didn’t feel so bad. Once it ended, she groaned with disappointment.

Luke smiled warmly, chuckling lightly when she opened her mouth to speak but she ended up stuttering. He could feel her confusion. It was normal, Luke had tried for so long to deny his feelings for her but he could not keep up this charade any longer. If they were going to defeat Vader and the Emperor they needed to be strong and they were stronger when they were together. He kissed her again, sensing doubt resurfacing in her. This time she responded as well and pulled him closer.

“I will not fall like our father did, I promise.”

“No, I promise you.” Kyra said moving one hand underneath his shirt. “I will not let them get to you. You're my brother and I will protect you. It will be you and me against the world  just like old times.” She added with a smile.

Part of her was still afraid. Falling in love was what led their father to his doom, but it felt so right. He wasn’t any stranger who didn’t fully understand him or some sanctimonious politician, she was his sister and she meant what she said earlier. She was not going to let anyone hurt him.

As their clothes came off, all they could think of was _‘fuck fate, fuck destiny.’_ They were the only two people that mattered and for one brief moment, they weren’t the Sun Twins or the Rebellion’s heroes, they were just Luke and Kyra.

* * *

 

Mary laughed. Her ladies didn't know what to make of their mistress. On the one hand they were happy they didn't have to tolerate her barbs, on the other they pitied her because no one deserved to be treated like this. After they left her, Mary took a good look at herself in the mirror. There was no denying it, she had become her father.

Just like him, she believed she was always in the right. And just like him, she landed herself on this mess by getting involved with a royal.

Her skin was flawless but no amount of make up could cover the scars on her neck. Vader had not seen her. But he will soon. The Emperor was going to make sure the tabloids released photos of her and Arthur so Owen would try and escape and in the crossfire he'd be killed. She could see it now on the evening news. Innocent youth shot by Rebels. It would turn public opinion against them. Arthur was too stupid to see it. He just wanted to make her suffer. Even if he did, he would blame her for it.

Mary would gladly give her life for her son. She begged the Emperor to offer an exchange of hostages. One of theirs for her son, or better yet. To take her, parade her through _the Rebel streets._ Mock her, spit her, she didn't care. She just wanted to see her son safe. But the Emperor cackled and told her she was foolish.   
_"Feelings make you weak. There is a reason why I eliminated the other Inquisitors and let you live. You were the only one I could use to keep Vader in line but now that the truth is out you have outrun your usefulness."_ The Emperor then added: _"The Empire is no place for a woman, much less for one who thinks with her heart rather than her head."_

What would Vader say when he saw the scars and the finger prints on her neck and back? Would he turn his back on the Emperor? She hoped not. He had worked so hard to be second in command and he still had plans to betray his master and crown himself Emperor. But men were fickle creatures, once they see something they think belongs to them hurt by another, they acted irrationally.

She couldn't get out of this mess gracefully so in that moment as she rose from her seat and clicked on a few buttons to contact Vader through a secure line, she made a choice. A fatal one, but one that would ensure her offspring's survival.

* * *

 

Vader was seething. Jon warned him against it. "The Emperor has eyes everywhere. She is Arthur's woman now."

"Arthur's woman, really? Since when do you talk like that?"

"Since I was brought back by my lady Melisandre and saw everyone condemn me for trying to help. I would have preferred things to have gone differently but Mary's fate is sealed and so is Owen's. Be reasonable here." He told his friend, grabbing his arm. "She is dead anyway. If you want to avoid her further suffering that kill her."

"I can't." Vader said, thinking back on the many times he tried to contact their daughter. Every time he hit a wall. The few times he got through the cracks, he'd see her lost in a sea of memories, being swung by his stepbrother and his wife. On one occasion when she was asleep, dreaming of her parents, she called her uncle 'daddy'. It hurt Vader and he tried to comfort her, sending her images of him and Mary and promising her what he promised Luke but she wasn't so easily dissuaded. Unlike her half-sibling, she hadn't given into her anger and when she heard his voice she cried, begging him to leave her alone and called out her aunt, hoping she would come back from the dead and comfort her. One time she even called her uncle, shouting at Vader that he had been a father to her more than he would ever be to her and Luke.  
Something in Kyra brought back the memories he tried so long to suppress. It reminded him of the woman he had fallen in love with and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and as the days went by quickly he began rethinking his life's choices.  
Had he really loved Padme? Was it lust, infatuation or just a crush as his master used to tease him? He didn't want to think it was that. When he met her, he was only nine, he hadn't seen much girls like her, let alone someone beautiful with class who was not afraid to speak her mind. She intrigued him and before he became Obi Wan's Padawan and she took back her planet from the Trade Federation, he promised her that one day he'd marry her. But after the two were married, he realized that his dream life was not what he expected. Padme was beautiful, an idealist and highly intelligent, but she didn't understand the people's plight as she claimed and moreover, she didn't understand him.  
_We were just two people in need of normalcy._ Then came Mary. After Padme found out he convinced her that she was just a body to keep his bed warm. She hadn't been special. Padme forgave him, Mary did not. The first years, after Mary joined the Empire and became Arthur's lover, he couldn't help but make her life a living hell. It made his guilt easier. Training in the dark arts and becoming one of the Inquisitors known as the "Eighth Sister", she became one of the Empire's best assassins but it wasn't enough for Vader. He would send her to impossible missions while deride her when she came back, telling her that she would never be any good with Jedi blood cursing through her veins. When her son graduated from the Imperial academy, things changed. Her son grew close to Jon's daughter -something Jon's wife didn't appreciate- and Vader grew lenient with them. Seeing the boy so happy when he was around Lyanna Targaryen-Stark, reminded him of his younger self. He didn't want the couple to face the same tragedy he faced so he made it easier for them to see each other behind their parents' back.  
Now Mary's son was in Rebel hands, same as their daughter and his son. The Emperor wanted him to stay put to see how loyal he was, and let things run their course.  
But Vader could not do that. He had been a slave for far too long, it was time to break free.

"The Emperor is not going to live long. He knows this and after he passes the Imperial seat shall be yours. It is a no-brainer."

"I do not want the Imperial seat." Vader said, surprising Jon.

"It is what you have been working for, for your entire career. You can't be serious. All of this for ... a woman?"

"It's not just her Jon, it's our daughter, it's her son and it's my son as well. You are right, Mary chose this life for herself but so did I and if there is one chance to spare our offspring any more suffering, we are going to take that chance regardless of what happens to us or my master."

"You are unbelievable, you know that? When we met your head was always stuck in the clouds. I used to say honor, courage but the words always left a sour taste in my mouth. When I found out Sansa and I were cousins, it felt right to marry her. She gave me children, she gave me the respect I needed and I let her have what she always wanted. But it was never enough so the two of us were always absent, unless our children came home during the holidays. We never pretended to love one another, we knew what we were getting into the minute I put a ring on her finger." Jon said, looking pointedly at his friend. "That is the difference between me and you. Despite everything the Rebels accuse us of, I continue to serve and do my duty while you think the rules don't apply to you. But," Jon added before his friend could say something, "if that is how you want to do things then be my guest. But don't expect me to help you when the Emperor finds out about your betrayal."

Vader watched Jon go. A part of him agreed with Jon. He should just put Mary out of her misery or let things run their course, but another one screamed at him to go to her now while he had the chance and start planning their escape.

* * *

 

Many people glared at him as he entered the mess hall. Training with his half-sister and her brother had been hell. Then he was told he was training with his grandfather. He thought the old Jedi was out of tricks but he was wrong.

His bottom hurt from all the times he'd been thrown off by him, not to mention that he could barely feel his face. All that power ... It felt great! Terrible but great. If only Lya could see me now. She'd berate him for listening to a crazy, old fool like his grandfather and probably call him a traitor but given the circumstances, he had nothing better to do so better take advantage of what he could so when he returned home, he'd put his abilities to use.

 _If I go home._ He pushed that voice away. He was going to return home. He was going to go back to Lya and they were going to get married just as they'd always planned.

And my mother won't have to be treated like my father's rag doll. At first he couldn't believe the images in the tabloids. People in the rebel base teased him, calling him Sith's spawn but he always turned a blind eye. He had grown among worst snakes than them. Words meant nothing to him but a picture was worth more than a thousand words. He wanted to shake his father and ask him why he was doing this, but deep down he knew why. It is because of me.

I will make things right. He promised himself afterwards. I will go back home to you mom and then everything will be alright.

He poured himself water. He hated caffeine drinks. And he could barely breath with all the hits he'd taken. Obi Wan had told him he would be training with him in an hour so Owen was going to make his time here count and get as much water and food as possible.

As he made his way to the training room he heard muffling sounds coming from his half-sister and Luke's room. Shit. He thought. He heard the rumors and seen how close they were, but he didn't think it went this far. To his horror, it did. Naked as the day they were born, they were on the bed, frolicking like animals.

He wondered if their grandparents knew. As much as he would have loved to tell them, he wasn't. He was going to talk to his half-sister instead. Rebel or not, he had accepted the truth that she and Bess Tudor were his family and therefore, his responsibility and if anyone could knock sense into her was him.

* * *

 

Marion Tyrell fired a clean shot at the Imperial soldier. Princess Leia didn't flinch as the heads of the Naboo Imperial base fell to the floor. Her lifeless eyes stared at them, they almost seemed like they were judging them, asking 'why?'

The two used to say a small prayer (in Marion's case) or 'may the Force be with you (in Leia's) every time they killed an Imperial soldier but following their capture and subsequent imprisonment in the Death Star, their views changed.

This was a war and in war everything goes.

"Bury her here." Princess Leia told her soldiers. "Burn her officers' bodies and scatter their ashes to the window. Let the cadets smell their remains." The rebels obeyed and threw the teens' bodies to the furnace while a few began digging a grave for their captain.

"She wasn't the one we were after." Marion told her as she and Leia turned their backs and headed back to their ship that would take them to home base. 

"I know but the Imperials don't know that we know." Leia said. "This will send a message that we don't negotiate with our enemies."

* * *

From his office, Grand Admiral Thrawn grinned. The two royal women were trouble and ruthless, much to his liking. They were willing to go to great lengths to win just like him and the Emperor. But unlike him, they weren't good at playing the game of politics.

Thrawn had studied Earth and Jedi history. He was going to use that knowledge to tear the Rebellion to pieces starting with the women. He would turn them against one another, he was going to use their weaknesses against them. 

He had sent one of his spies to follow Jon and Sansa's son. He was surprised to find that he had met with the former Princess of England, Elizabeth Tudor and bought her drinks. From the surveillance video, he saw that there was a mutual attraction between the two. Good. He was going to pull on the little lord's strings and then the lady Bess. Like all terrestrial royals, she would be easy to control. 

Then there was siblings'  _love affair._ The Emperor didn't want him to expose that to the public and Thrawn thought that was a wise decision. It was better to use it to bring the boy closer to the dark side. The girl was another matter. She was pure in the sense that Vader had tried to corrupt and had come empty-handed. There was no trace of darkness in her.  
_But should her brother turn dark or turn to someone else ..._ Thrawn smirked.  
_Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn._  
And then there were the Naberries. The late Senator and Queen of Naboo had a lot of bones in their closets. If Jane Kyra found out about them, it would push her closer towards the end of the cliff until she'd be left with no option but to jump along with her brother.

 


	22. And they will bow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Emperor foresees great calamity while Thrawn smiles as his plans are finally set in motion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As before, the way leading up to Return of the Jedi, and when we get to there, is filled with themes of angst, betrayal and the past becoming a recurring character. So there are more flashbacks here but also a focus, as before, on our young heroes as they try to cope with the loss of a dear friend. I suggest listening to Burn the Witch by Radiohead. There was one episode way back that featured this song and if you continue to follow the story, you will see how it fits here.

_"This is a round up_  
_This is a low flying panic attack_  
_Sing a song on the jukebox that goes_  
_Burn the witch!_

 _Red crosses on wooden doors_  
_If you fall, you burn …_

 _Avoid all eye-contact_  
_Do not react_  
_Shoot the messengers…”_  
**~Burn the Witch by Radiohead**

_"What he saw there was enough to make his worst imaginings of the thing in the cellar look like sweet dreams. What he saw destroyed his sanity in one clawing stroke."_

**~It by Stephen King**

_“It’s a fun fact that during their first lives, Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn competed like two female primates for their man’s attention. This is not strange given terrestrial attitudes towards women based on the religion they grew up in. Anne was a staunch Christian same as her opponent was a devout Catholic, but they each believed more in their will-power than in the head of their respective faiths. For Catherine, whenever she did something, was because God told her so, while Anne believed that no matter what she did, God would always stir her back to the correct path. These women were amongst the elite of Christendom. Although there were other far more powerful -and richer-, Earth has elevated them to the status of icons to the point that no other female figure has measured up to their level. It remains to be seen what the coming years will bring us, if we on Earth, will ever see someone impact our people the way these women did (for better or for worse)…”_

**_~Annals of Earth from a Galactic Point of View by Lady Death_ **

**~o~**

Ned found Captain Sanders in his chambers. “Captain Sanders this is a surprise. Mind if I offer you some refreshment?”

“No, thank you. The Emperor came to see me because he is worried that you are not living up to your name.”

“Oh?”

“You have been seeing the former Princess of England, Lady Elizabeth Tudor.”

“We had a few drinks here and then. What’s is to you? She is not high priority.”

“She is now.” She tossed him a paper file. He couldn’t believe his eyes. “The Emperor will not tolerate any dissension, including from low profile Rebels so I suggest you start doing your job and make good on your promise and shoot her the next time you see her or I will do it for you.” She said and was about to leave when she was stopped by his voice.

“And what if I don’t? What if …. I could convince her to give us information about her Rebel friends?”

Carina laughed. “Fat chance. Terrestrial women are idiots, especially Christian royals. I know because my mother was one of them.”

“So this isn’t more than just duty for you, you want to take revenge on her mother and her predecessor.”

“It’s more than that, you are right, except that I am not looking for vengeance, that would imply that I have any feelings for these women. What I want is justice for the thousands of people that died for these hypocrites.”

“That’s not lady Elizabeth’s fault.”

“It doesn’t matter. Sometimes the tree of liberty and justice has to be stained with the blood of innocents. Your friend used to love that phrase before he defected to the Rebels. Perhaps you are considering to defect as well?”

“He didn’t defect, they captured him and no, I am not going to do the same and let myself get captured. I am a loyal servant of the Empire and I will do everything to protect it.”

“Good.”

“But I will not allow your personal history to get in the way. I will do what is required of me but nothing else.”

“You haven’t heard what I said? The Emperor wants all rebels punished and if you are not up to it then you will be dismissed and sent back to your parents or to the Academy for re-education. I am sure your lady mother will be proud, hearing how her son’s promising career was thrown away because of one puny little girl.” Carina said. Eddard glared at her. She smiled. “We are on the same Lieutenant Eddard, do not make the same mistake as these terrestrials. We are here to preserve order and justice, do not let them trick you the way they have tricked other youths.”

Eddard squeezed his fist. If there was one woman he was willing to beat to a bloody pulp it was Carina Sanders. He passed a hand through his rough hair. What was he going to do? He couldn’t continue seeing Bess, even if it was to chit-chat. As much as he hated to admit it, Carina Sanders was right. She was the enemy and if he gave in, he would be no different than the other youths who abandoned their principles to join a fledgling rebellion.

~o~

After Carina left his chambers she reported back to Grand Admiral Thrawn. “Did he take the bait?”

“He did. Now what?”

“Now we wait.” He told her, turning his back to her to assess the new painting he had obtained from one of the ruins of the many Tudor palaces Lady Elizabeth’s father had constructed shortly after he declared himself head of his new church. It was one that was filled with symbolism. Him, imposing tall and his third wife, plain with a homely face. Below them were his parents looking proud of what their son had accomplished.

“Is there something else you wish to discuss Captain Sanders?” He asked, sensing her here still as he told his protocol droid to bring him a holo that projected the paintings pertaining to his other targets.

“You said learn their culture, their art but everyone already does. I don’t understand how you can be so calm when I just told Eddard Targaryen-Stark of your plans.”

“You told him exactly what the youth wanted to hear and it is a beautiful thing to be young. Impertinent, idealistic, they think nothing can defeat them and as much as Lieutenant tries to deny it, he has terrestrial blood flowing through his veins. He is as much a child of Earth as our other targets are except young Skywalker, but even he, can’t shake off the influence from the time spent with his sister and his new rebel friends.”

He enlarged an image of Henry VIII. This was not a portrait. It was a holo-picture taken during the time of the old republic when Jedi emissaries had come to Earth. Henry was still married to Anne Boleyn. Their daughter was in her governess’ arms, a woman by the name of Margaret Bryan who was related to the Queen. They look so happy. Thrawn’s grin spread as he figured what was going through their heads as he gazed deep into their eyes. Despair, betrayal, disappointment. All these emotions were like food to him and like any good instructor, he would use it to teach the last Tudor Princess a lesson.

“What about Skywalker? He and his sister are still together.”

“Patience Captain, this job requires us to be careful. We start small, we plant the seeds of doubt in these lovers’ heads, then slowly, we make them see the truth until the blindfold is completely off and they realize they are no different from the rest of us.” He waved his hand and the image changed again. This time to a holo-video of Luke and Kyra, hiding behind an alley sharing a kiss. The boy looked more into her than she into him. Watching them was the girl’s half-sibling, the Lady Mary’s and Lord Tudor’s son, Owen. His red eyes focused on the youth He turned on classical music he’d gotten from the old republic records that belonged to Earth, pre-Imperial era. Confusion, concern were written all over the youth’s face.

“Get me the records of Owen Lars and his wife Beru Whiteson.”

“They are in Vader’s keeping.”

“Get them for me Captain Sanders, you asked me what I plan to do. You will know soon enough. Get me those records." He repeated, perfectly still and calm as the Captain turned around and went to carry on his orders.

“And Captain Sanders?” He added before she was out the door. “Get me the medical histories of the siblings’ mothers.”

“Yes, sir.” Captain Sanders said and rushed to the Imperial database.

* * *

_Owen helped Jane with her math homework. “Uncle?” She asked after she was finished._

_“Yes?”_

_“When will Luke and I get to fly the stars?”_

_“You don’t get to fly the stars, you fly ships.”_

_“When will I get to fly a ship then? Luke talks about nothing else than flying to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. He says that it is our destiny to be among the first tos ee everything.”_

_“It is no one’s destiny, what I mean is …” He searched for better terms to explain to his seven year old niece. “… no one’s future is set in stone. You make your own destiny. Luke will forge his own path same as you.”_

_“Like my dad?”_

_A knot formed in Owen’s throat. “Yes, just like your father.”_

_“When I grow up, I will see everything with Luke and when we are done we will come and visit you.” She said._

_Owen felt guiltier as he heard her speak of her and Luke as if they were one. Anakin was always good at making people to act against their own self-interests, especially Luke and Jane Kyra’s mothers. From what he saw, Jane was completely linked to Luke and it was more than sibling love, it was something (he guessed) that had to do with the Force. He was just a poor farmer but he had read and heard enough about the Jedi to know about Force bonds and how once they were formed, they couldn’t be destroyed._

_“That is good of you Jane.” He said, smiling in return. His niece went on saying that she would never forget her aunt and uncle and when she and Luke became famous, she would bring them many gifts and make sure they were well off so they wouldn’t have to work again._

_‘She is Shmni’s granddaughter alright.’ Luke had his father’s attitude towards flying and machines but Jane Kyra completely took after his stepmother. Every expression, every word, was like it was being spoken by Shmni._

_It felt wrong and the gods would probably punish him for harboring these thoughts, but sometimes he wished she was their daughter and not Vader and Mary’s. The girl was completely innocent, free of malice and extremely curious. Last week Owen brought her a book about extinct creatures from Felucia and she squealed in excitement, showing it off to Luke and smiling every time he read from it._

_That night after everyone went to sleep he looked at his sleeping wife. He and Beru were still young, they could still try but Beru had gotten tired of getting her hopes up and Owen didn’t want to see her suffer like the last time after her fourth miscarriage._

_She had accepted that Luke and Jane Kyra were their life and they were going to do everything they could to ensure they had a good childhood. Beru believed that they should be trained while Owen was more practical. He loved them, but he was also afraid for them. The Jedi had screwed up their parents’ lives, they’d likely screw up theirs too._

_No, this was better. Ignorance, Owen believed for once, was the best option. Before he closed his eyes he took a locket he always hid underneath his shirt. It was a picture of his mother, the woman who died when he was five. He could never make out the words around the locket. His father said she was offworld._

_Although he was very good at not showing it, every time he saw Kyra smiling at her brother or finding something rare growing in the desert, he'd be reminded of his childhood when he was eager to please his parents and then of Shmni, when she was eager to please him, so he wouldn't feel like he was alone._

* * *

 

Kyra didn’t care what the others whispered behind her back. She went to see her brother again, this time in his new chambers. Leia was so scandalized that she thought it best they sleep in separate rooms while Marion asked her if she was sure about what she was doing. Kyra was surprised. It wasn’t the reaction she’d hoped for. Alderaan hadn’t been like Earth, and the rest of the galaxy didn’t frown upon sibling relationships the way Earth did. But then she remembered that they were trying to turn public opinion in their favor and if they were going to get new recruits who were known for their self righteousness, they had to be discreet, especially them.

She sighed and knocked on his door. She was tired of pretending. He was her brother. They had grown up believing they were twins. They weren’t but that didn’t matter. The bond they forged was stronger than any blood relation.

As she entered his room she was surprised to find it empty. Seated on his bed was her other half-sibling.

“What are you doing here?” She asked, rather rudely, earning a grin from Owen Tudor.

“I could be asking you the same thing. The Princess made it very clear these were off limits to anyone else save Luke and his pilots.”

“I am his co-pilot and he is my brother, what’s wrong with that picture?”

“It is if you are fucking him. If I was a dastardly being I would say go right ahead but I am your brother and as your brother it is my duty to protect you even from yourself.”

“How gentleman of you Owen. I don’t need saving, I can take care of myself. If you didn’t notice I have flown two hundred thirty five times, half of those alone.”

“Good, maybe you should fly more alone. At least then we won’t have to worry about you fucking your brother and making a mockery of yourself!”

“Is that what this is about? Are you trying to make up for what my mother did leaving me there on Tatooine?”

“Don’t start.” He said, there was a light warning in his voice. “I want to protect you.”

“I don’t need protection Owen. I am fairly surprised this is coming from you. Your parents aren’t the example of morality.”

“You are right they are not but at least they don’t pretend. If you want to love Luke, do it. But do it because you want to not because you feel you have to.”

“I love-“

“You love what he represents. You feel guilty because you lost your aunt and uncle and now you want to make up for lost time.” He took her hand. “Don’t do this Kyra. I have seen how you fight, how you give so much of yourself for everyone, it’s time you give something to yourself too.”

“You are good with words Owen but not that good.” Kyra let go of his hand. “Luke and I are more than brother and sister we have formed a bond.”

Owen’s eyes widened. No, it can’t be.

Kyra smiled a sad smile, knowing what went through his mind. “That’s right. We have been bonded by the Force. We didn’t choose this path, it chose us and we are not going to stray from it until we are finished with the Empire.”

Owen sighed rubbing his temple. “You know you can’t win. Many rebels have tried in the past to outsmart the Emperor, they’ve all failed. No matter when, no matter how, the Emperor always wins. Trust me, I know.”

“Not this time.” Kyra told him and there was conviction in her voice. “The Emperor has one weakness and that is his arrogance. We are going to exploit and when the time comes we will destroy him and save our father.”

Owen chuckled. “Now I know you are mad. I can see your reasoning behind killing the Emperor. I don’t like him either, but he keeps everyone in line. But I can see why you and the rebels think that is a good idea. But what will happen once he dies? Do you seriously believe that Vader will turn his back on everything he’s known for the past twenty five years? He has ambitions, he is not going to let those go, even for his offspring.”

“It is a worth a try. Luke thinks he is too far gone but I don't, I know there is light in him. I felt it when we were on Bespin and I can feel it now."

"If you are so sure then why haven't you answered his mental calls?"

"Because I am afraid. If I am going to make contact with him, I must be sure. That is why I need you Owen. You know the Empire, you can help me get to him and convince him to turn from his evil ways. I know you have been sending secret texts to Lyan. I know how much you miss her. I don’t know what I would do if I was in your position away from Luke but please, I am begging you, help us. You have knowledge that could be useful.”

“I can’t. I already told our grandparents I can’t. I won’t betray my family.”

“Then do it for Lya. A storm is coming Owen, you’ve felt it. I know you have. The Emperor’s days are numbered and when he falls, the new republic won’t be so merciful. They will look for scapegoats and in his absence they will turn to your friends’ parents and if they are dead, they will go after them.”

“I won’t let them.”

“What makes you think your opinion will count? You are the enemy. All that will matter will be avenging those we’ve lost. But if you were to help us then we could broker a deal with Leia and the other future heads of government so Lya and Ned will not be prosecuted.” Owen didn’t say anything. “Think about it. Now if you will let me, I have to go to the cafeteria. Coming?” Owen nodded, seeing he had no more reason to be in this damn room.

* * *

 

"Han." There wasn't a day that Leia didn't lick her lips or touch them to remember the touch of Han's against them. Since he had been taken the former Queens, Jane and Anne had been very reluctant to speak with her. They blamed her for his kidnapping. But they were not as bad as his father who couldn't bear the sight of her.

Today was no different. There were only three people on this base who knew of Starkiller, and before she gave her approval to Marion to speak with him, she had to know more about the man's character from the horses' mouth.

Stepping in the mess hall of the Rebel Base that was formerly one of the Imperial battle stations on the moon, she addressed the two women and his father.

"Your Majesties, Sir Thomas."

"Your Highness." Jane and Anne acknowledged turning their heads to one another, ignoring her again. Sir Thomas for his part did not even open his mouth.

"This has been a difficult time for all of us but we must address the matter of Han. He is gone and there is nothing we can do to change that. My sources tell me there is a possible lead that could help us break him from Jabba the Hutt's palace."

"Break him from Jabba?" Anne asked with a malicious grin, still refusing to see her. "Good luck with that."

"His name is Starkiller, he was Vader's former apprentice but you probably knew him by the name of Henry Carey." Anne put her cup down. "I am glad to see that I have your attention because he is alive and kicking and he is the only one who can help us."

"Us?" Anne asked looking at the Princess. She never liked her mother, her real mother. It was no secret, but she respected her nonetheless because there was a humility in her that this young woman didn't posses. "What makes you think we wish to help you after how you behaved?"

"Behaved? I saved everyone's skins in Bespin."

"You endangered everyone by following my nephew's lead. As the leader of the rebellion you should have known better than to trust a former smuggler. Didn't it ever occur you that the reason why they let you pass after Han stated his name was because there was an Imperial presence? That if Han knew about Lando, so did the Empire? They never miss anything, that is why they've stayed in power for so long." Jane said.

"You are absolutely right. I wasn't thinking clearly. I fucked up," she said using a terrestrial word, hoping that would get them to look at her, especially Han's father. "I endangered myself and my friends and I allowed Han to get captured but there is no use blaming me now. I own up to what I did and so must you."

"We?"

They all finally turned to her. 

"Since when did we send our offspring to dangerous mission with a reckless Princess who thinks she is better than anyone else because her planet was blown up. We all lost someone fighting the Empire, Your Highness? What your people suffered in seconds, others have suffered in years." Jane said.

"You don't get to have our sympathy because billions cried out in agony as they were burned and turned into nothing. I am surprised people cried for your planet given it was the Academies favorite target for 'decadence and aristocracy'." Anne said quoting one of the many student publications that condemned all royals.

"This is about what happened to you isn't it?" Anne, Jane and Thomas said nothing. "Well I am very sorry that you lost your families too but crying and passing around blame isn't going to help. We can either sit here and yell and get nowhere or you can start talking and help me find Han."

Anne and Jane gritted their teeth. Leia gathered it was the first time the Christian women had ever been told by someone that wasn't someone of their own family. "Very well, then. What do you need to know?"

"Everything. The Empire will not waste any time searching for him and by the time I relay the information to Marion, they will surely know what you know."

The women nodded and gave Leia full description of Anne's nephew, starting with the scar he had on his left cheek in the form of an 'x'. The only person who wasn't cooperating was Thomas who found the young woman's presence too unbearable. He left before she could ask him what he knew.

* * *

Admiral Piett excused himself. He was putting his life on the line and for what? Lady Mary was no longer in control. Her husband was and if he found out, he would surely kill him. But seeing Lyanna Targaryen-Stark so hopeful, it was impossible for him to grant her request to see Lady Mary.

Unaware that he was being followed by a young captain, he returned to the control room to oversee his soldiers' progress. People looked up to him, including fellow admirals who joked on how he was able to be on Vader's good side for so long without being choked or threatened.

Piett wished he knew the answer. But it wasn't all sunshine. The people Vader had killed were lucky in a way. They would never have to thread carefully knowing that their lives hung a balance. It wasn't just Vader that Piett was wary off, it was Lord Tudor, the Emperor and Grand Admiral Thrawn.

Every time that man was near, Piett could not help but feel five feet smaller. The man was tall for his species. His red eyes looked more menacing than any other alien he'd come across with and his reputation as one of the Emperor's finest was well known. 

* * *

The Emperor oversaw the plans for the second death star. It was going to be bigger and with greater fire power. He cackled as he closed his eyes and sensed the Lady Mary and Lyanna Targaryen-Stark's desperation. The two fools were no doubt talking about Owen Tudor. The boy was as foolish as his mother. Sentimental! He had no use for his type aboard his troops. Once he was gone, the systems that had declared their support for the Rebellion would return to him and finally, the Rebellion would be no more.

What interested him more though was Thrawn's reports. His plans to lure Luke Skywalker and his half-sister to the dark side were going well. The girl was innocent now but it wouldn't take long to corrupt her. Her father had been easy after all. One dark vision of his beloved dying and a false one telling him lies about the Lady Mary was all it took to turn him away from the Jedi.

He waved his hand in front of the holo-screen. The other rebel heroes appeared. Lady Elizabeth, Mary Stuart, the so called 'Queen of Scots', Marion Tyrell and of course, the thorn in his side since she became senator, Princess Leia Organa.

They'd all be dealt with. Unlike the others, he would ensure that their pain was unlike anything they'd ever felt. He'd watch them drop to their knees begging them to kill them and he would start over, making them relive the same nightmare over and over again.

There was nothing more that the Emperor enjoyed than mind games. Playing with people's demons was a Sith's best achievement and luckily for him, these young women's parents had a lot of skeletons in their closets. When all the pieces fell to their rightful places, he would give the order to Grand Admiral Thrawn to open the doors and unleash the demons their parents had tried very hard to hide.


	23. A Rare Flower that Blooms in the Darkness

_"In the darkness before the dawn_  
_In the swirling of the storm_  
_When I'm rolling with the punches, and hope is gone_  
_Leave a light, a light on_

 _Millions of miles from home_  
_in the swirling, swimming on_  
_When I'm rolling with the thunder but bleed from thorns_  
_Leave a light -a light on_

 _Leave a light, a light on_  
_Leave a light, a light on_  
  
_In the darkness before the dawn_  
_In the darkness before the dawn_  
_Leave a light, a light on_  
_Leave a light, a light on"_  
**~Midnight by Coldplay**

_"Like I said, there’s a flower that grows in the darkness, lirio de los valles. So many reasons it shouldn’t exist. It must be celebrated. You are one of those flowers so you may as well bloom because it’s going to be dark for a while.”_

**~Teresa in Queen of the South (2016)**

**~o~**

Marion paid the bartender to be silent. It didn’t come as a big surprise that she found Starkiller or Henry Carey as he was known by when he was Darth Vader’s apprentice, in one of the bars in Concord Dawn.

“I am surprised my aunt didn’t send her daughter here.” Starkiller said. Marion turned and smiled. It was him alright. The scar on his cheek in the form of an X, green eyes and dark brown hair. “I would have preferred a familiar face over a former aid of an Alderaani Princess.”

“The Alderaani Princess.” Marion corrected. “Leia is the only survivor of the royal family so that makes her extra special to us. She is also the only one who’s been successful in convincing your aunt and Jane Seymour to speak about your whereabouts. I imagine not many people know the truth about you.”

“Not many.” Henry Carey agreed. “And I hope you and your mistress keep it that way.”

The two sat on an empty booth near the holo-screen. This planet was controlled by the Mandallorians. Since the assassination of Duchess Satine, it had become a hub for criminals and freighter pilots. There was a faction that was controlled by disaffected nobles that had pledged their loyalty to the Empire while the other half was neutral but helped the rebels when they pressed them, because unlike the first half, they wanted to preserve their culture (something they would never get if the Empire gained complete control over their government).

“Why the name Starkiller?”

“I wanted to distance myself from my family and I figured something catchy yet not so unusual would be good.”

“It didn’t cross your mind that it is fairly similar to Skywalker.”

“That did cross my mind, but I simply wanted something that wouldn’t trace me back to the Boleyns or the Howards or any other noble family back on Earth.” Carey looked around making sure that she wasn’t followed.

Marion assured him she wasn’t.

“You can never be too sure. The Imperials are famed for their search tactics. If someone knows about that is me.” Henry said with a grim face.

“Why did you leave? Legend says that you confronted Vader and almost killed him but I’ve never given much credence to legends.”

“You shouldn’t” Henry said then told her the truth.

“I am impressed. My mother used to tell me that the reason why the Tyrells chose their symbol was because flowers were beautiful and deadly. When your aunt was crowned queen she chose a falcon because it looked more menacing but now that you’ve told me your story, it was your mother who made the wise choice in choosing her lover’s flower as her symbol.”

“My lady mother always loved to think that King Henry was invincible and before the Empire took over, she’d tell me that I had to look after my sister because she was His Majesty’s child, I never believed it but she did and that was all that mattered.”

“Why did you join the Empire?”

“I didn’t. I joined Vader. I believed that he would make things better. He spoke with such conviction that I hadn’t heard in anyone and I believed him.”

“But then you realized your mistake and that is when you tried to escape.”

“Yes.” He chuckled. “I was pretty stupid thinking that I could fool Vader. I told him that I needed to go to Takodana because one of my spies said that there was a rebel base there but no soon did I finish did he unsheathe his lightsaber and we fought. That is how I got this scar.” He pointed to the ‘x’ on his face. “I’ve tried everything from laser surgery and bacta creams but it remains unchanged.” He sighed. “You can’t defeat Vader.”

“Not then but we have his offspring with us,” Henry smirked at that, Marion continued, unfazed by his skepticism. “and more systems are leaving the Empire. Even if the Emperor and the Moffs become more brutal, Vader will think twice before hurting us, knowing his offspring may be in one of our ships.”

“Good luck with that. I truly mean it, I wish you all the luck in the world but trust me when I warn you that nothing, absolutely nothing, can stop Vader and I don’t mean the man but everyone that is a part of him.” Henry saw that she didn’t like what he implied. He grinned. “You haven’t noticed the Sith’s spawn has begun to turn to the dark side? Dark clothing, new lightsaber made in the same fashion as his father when he was a Jedi Knight?”

“Kyra is different.”

“Aye, she is but how long before she follows her brother and their dark father’s path. It only takes one rotten apple to spoil the others and trust me coming from a screwed up family, I know all about rotten apples.”

“Says the man who’s been hiding under various alias for the past ten years.”

“If you think you are going to turn me and make me see the error of my ways by playing good cop then bad cop, try something better my lady. I have been at the mercy of jealous family members, Imperials and outlaws all my life. Nothing scares me now.”

“Well you should be because if the Empire wins, it won’t just be me but your family, the last blood relation and link you have to Earth and with the Empire starting construction for the new Death Star, your home could be next on their list.”

“Not my problem.” He said in a nonchalant way. He signaled the bar tender to refill his cup and paid him extra for a wine bottle. “Don’t you just love the Mandalorians? They say that Tatooine, Jakku and all those other crime hubs know how to serve scum like me but they underestimate Concord Dawn. Simply the best of the best for a good price.”

Marion shook her head. “Shame, after everything your aunt said about you…”

“My aunt loves to be the big drama queen. That is how she lost her head in her first life and how her predecessor also lost hers. Not her head but her dignity because when it comes to royal whores, Catherine was the best or so I heard countless times from Vader.” Henry said, remembering how Vader spoke hatefully when it came to his former lover's mother.

“And what about the innocents who weren’t asked and lost everything because they refused to bow their heads to the Empire?”

“Life is cruel my lady. Again, not my problem.” He sighed and put the bottle down. She wasn’t going to move from her seat and he didn’t like when people looked at him that way. It was funny. Her eyes had the same intensity as his aunt and her predecessor’s; if he hadn’t lived through those horrors, they would have made him cower. “Do you know why people defected to the Empire following the torture, rape and murder of priests and royals? I will tell you why. Abandonment. The priests promised the people salvation and the queens promised they’d be kind to them but behind closed doors they couldn’t help but mock and scorn the poor urchins in the streets. After my aunt convinced my royal uncle to banish Catherine from court, she said ‘I will make shirts for you.’ She didn’t. Technically, she did but she ordered someone else to do it. That should have been a red herring but my uncle could only think of the day he’d finally get to possess her. And of course once he did, he grew disappointed. My aunt did her best to appease him and the masses as well. But being the good noblewoman she was, she couldn’t bring herself to learn domestic arts or bring herself to empathize with them because she was a queen, she was so much better than them. Then she dies and gets cloned. We all know the story of how her soul and Catherine’s and Arthur’s found their way back to their bodies but what people don’t know is that the only reason why they humbled themselves and were forced to accept the cold, hard truth that they were no longer the masters of the universe was because they saw two girls who told them right to their faces ‘Bastards!’” Henry began laughing. It wasn’t a healthy laugh. It even reminded him of the tales he heard of his aunt and Queen Catherine when they heard their husband was after a new woman. “Anne being the proud harpy that she was, was about to slap her when the girl showed her, her hands and her cunt and told her ‘this is what Protestant priests did to me you bitch!’ and then the other one told Catherine ‘where were you, you big whore, when they raped my mother. It was one of the priests that served you when you were younger.’ Vader was there of course and he told me that he couldn’t stop laughing, especially seeing Catherine’s horror. Then he told them ‘your God has abandoned you, the Emperor is your god now.’”

Marion knew that Vader was cruel and willing to do whatever his master told him but even this was too much for him. Seeing her discomfort, he elaborated, “See, there’s no reason for terrestrials to like my aunt or other royals. To them we are gods. Everyone dreams of being a princess and wearing a magical tiara, sitting on the Iron Throne and doing whatever they want because most will never wield any power so the sheer thought of it, is appealing. But once they start using their brain and free themselves of superstition and belief, they see that they are no different than the rest of us. So there’s the answer to your question. Why would an innocent, naïve, obedient Christian such as Sanders would turn her back on everything she knew?” He paused. “The Empire will be destroyed, on that you are right. The Emperor knows this as well and he’s doing everything in his power to prevent it. But even with his vast knowledge of the dark side, he won’t be able to stop the inevitable. What comes afterwards though, won’t be what you and the rebels have been after.”

“You have seen this?”

“No, but I just know it.” Henry answered her taking another sip of his wine. “It doesn’t take a genius to know that revolutions seldom end with the objectives the rebel-rousers first had in mind.”

“It is still worth a try.” Marion said, unconvinced by his argument. “You said that two girls were presented before the three, explicitly for Anne and Catherine. Where are they now?”

“You are smart lady Marion, don’t tell me you haven’t figured it out yet.”

Marion’s eyes widened. “You mean …”

“Yes. Captain Carina Sanders herself.”

* * *

Carina wished that Thrawn didn’t keep so much to her. Dying her hair red and using contact lenses to change her eye color, she became part of the Rebel forces. She told them her name was Mara Jade and that she had been orphaned by the Empire twenty five years ago when they’d taken Earth. It was a convincing story that left many of them in tears. No one was more empathetic than Luke Skywalker. Much to her surprise, this wasn’t the naïve young man she had first heard of following the destruction fot he death star five years ago.

Cold, but well-meaning, he told her that she could count on him. Carina smiled and thanked the young rebel.

She couldn’t say the same about his sister who was too much of a goody-two-shoes for her taste. All she ever did was smile and give others comfort. Carina saw her training with her brother. Carina had to admit that the girl was good, but her skills were marred by her kindness. It was almost sickening. _She will get herself killed one day_. People like Jane Kyra Skywalker didn’t belong here, belief in others had no place in this cruel galaxy.

* * *

Kyra saw her reflection in her mirror. Her uncle tried his best to turn them into good, honest people but the Force had other ideas. Despite Luke’s distance from her -since Mara had joined the Rebel Alliance- was still close to her brother. There was that darkness within him that worried her. She didn’t want to see him hit rock bottom.

It was one thing to lose your parents to it, but your brother, even your half-sibling, was something else entirely. He was the person who protected her when kids at school laughed at her, when she felt like an outsider in their friends’ parties. And there was aunt Beru and uncle Owen. She was so bad to the former, thinking that she was close minded and a fool for turning Kyra away from Luke’s toys and her holo-adventure-dramas. She was better around uncle Owen. Her uncle was hard on Luke but not on her.

He swung her and called her a rebel-rouser (in a good way) then humored her by pretending that he lost every match when she played the queen conquering the castle and taking out the evil ice dragon that threatened to consume her and her subjects.

Kyra started to brush her hair. She didn’t care that Luke didn’t visit her. As long as he was happy, she’d be happy.

A presence appeared from behind, Kyra didn’t need to turn to know who it was. It told her, “You don’t believe that.”

“You always believed you could save everyone Jane, it was the one thing that distinguished you from the rest of your family, but even your good nature can’t save Luke from himself.”

“I have to try.  Luke is all I have left. If he falls, I won’t be able to stop him or help the Jedi defeat the Empire.”

“Forget the Jedi, what is it that you want? Do you really want to rebuild the Jedi Order because your grandfather says so?”

“I don’t know. I just …” Tears strolled down her cheeks. “I just want things to be better and I don’t know how. I thought I did, I thought that after the death star that me and Luke were invincible but we were just stupid. I can’t do this alone. I am just one person.” She fell to her knees.

The ghost wrapped his arms around her and rocked her as if she was still a child of seven. “You are stronger than you know. You will get through this, you must believe in yourself.”

“How? Everyone has turned against me. No matter how hard I try, it is never enough. My grandfather says that I am nothing without Luke and that I am too carefree and then my grandmother says that I am too careless and the former Earth Queens say the same. I-I don’t know what to do.”

Owen didn’t say anything. He let her cry it out and when her tears had dried, he spoke again. “There is a flower that blooms in the darkest of places. It is a flower that shouldn’t exist and many consider it an affront of nature. It is beautiful as well as deadly. You remind me of that flower.” He cleaned the tears that came afterwards. “Don’t turn like them. There is so much goodness in you Jane … don’t let them take it out of you. Bloom and when you are ready, release your spines.” He said and kissed her forehead then let her go. “I can’t stay here much longer-“

“No, please uncle, I need you…”

“But I want you to know that none of this is your fault. We are what we do Jane.” He said then he vanished leaving the crying girl alone, feeling more desperate.

* * *

Owen heard his half-sister crying in her bedroom. A part of him wanted to hit Luke for turning his wandering eyes to the new recruit. What was he thinking? Mara Jade over their half-sister. Kyra was ten times better than her. After everything she’s done for him. And of course their grandmother knew but didn’t say anything because she was just relieved that the two weren’t together anymore. Same as Obi Wan.

Owen should be relieved as well. But the fact that Kyra loved him so much and hadn’t been open to it, but did it anyways because of that, angered him.

He opened the door. He didn’t need the code as he had seen Kyra punch it one time he spied on her to make sure she wasn’t getting cozy with Luke.

“Get out!” Was the greeting he got from her. Owen didn’t move. Kyra sent things flying their way and Owen evaded them, using some of his new abilities to stop them in mid-air.

“You must be really happy. Come to tell me ‘I told you so?’ Because you were right, I was an idiot.”

“You are not an idiot and that not why I am here.” Owen said sitting on the floor next to her. Like the previous Owen, he put his arms around her and she tried to push him away but she was too frantic that she couldn’t concentrate well enough to use her power on him.

“Why is this happening to me? It’s not fair, I never did anything.”

“The galaxy is a terrible place. You don’t have to be evil for terrible things to happen to you. That’s just life. Luke deserves to be happy just as you.”

“But he is my half-brother. We’ve always been together.”

“And you always will be, this changes nothing. You should take this as an opportunity to be your own person and do the things you want to do.”

“Do you do the things you want to do?” She asked, referring to his previous life as his parents’ darling boy.

“Not always but the times I did, I never let others stop me. You remind me a lot of my mother before terrible things happened to her.”

“I am nothing like her.” Kyra said, not wanting to hear him compare her to that woman.

“You can deny the truth all you want but we don’t get to choose your parents and neither do we get to deny what is in front of us. My mother was a good woman. She fell in love with the handsomest Jedi in the galaxy and like you, she thought that they’d live happily ever after.”

“So did Luke’s mother.” Kyra pointed out. “And you didn’t see her turning to the dark side.”

“I am sure if she lived, she would have become a prominent figure in the rebellion and done equally terrible things in the name of justice.” Owen said. “The point is, our parents made a lot of mistakes and instead of ignoring them, we should accept they are our parents and learn from them so we don’t repeat their mistakes.”

“How did someone so young get so good at giving advice to his big sister?”

“I’ve had good teachers, one of them is with me right now.” Owen said with a warm smile. Kyra smiled back.

* * *

Thrawn’s red eyes flashed intensely as he read Luke and Kyra’s mothers’ medical history then turned the page to the new information on the former Earth Queens and Jedi Master, Obi Wan Kenobi.

“Interesting.” He closed the folder, put it on his desk and turned his view towards his window overlooking the Imperial Capital. His office was located where the Jedi Temple had once stood. For over a thousand generations the Jedi Knights had been the guardians of peace throughout the galaxy. This temple had been the second one they’d built after the first one had been destroyed. No one knew where it was. There were theories. But most of those were unfounded.

They will tear themselves apart from within. Thrawn had told Captain Sanders. What he didn’t say was that the Emperor had set greater plans in motion that Thrawn would carry out in case something were to happen to his Imperial Highness

This office was where the Jedi would determine the future of their Padawans. His office still kept some of the old statues, while others he considered unnecessary had been removed by temporal ones. Every time he got a new assignment he would decorate his walls with paintings and statues of that person’s culture. With this one, he not only filled his main office but also his smaller one.

Entering the latter would show the viewer a silver cross that had belonged to Henry VIII. It had been a gift from his former friend and tutor, Sir Thomas More. Next to that, encased in glass, was a copy of the English bible that had been copied by his second queen, Anne Boleyn, from the original translation from William Tyndale. Behind those, encased in glass as well, were miniatures of Queen Catherine of Aragon after she came to England and before that, when she spent her childhood in the Alhambra palace her mother had captured from the last Taifa Kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula. There were also her rosary, encrusted with rubies, diamonds and other precious gemstones; and her prayer book.

But his greatest addition was a family holo-picture he got from the Imperial archives after the Stormtroopers had burned the Lars homestead, of Luke and his half-sister with their aunt and uncle.

Studying them had given him a great insight into the minds of these people, not just predicting their next move, but what had led to it.

Humans were an odd species. Terrestrials even more. They believed that there was such a thing as good and evil. Their morals defied all reason, and yet, it was their passion that made them succeed against all odds. _Now imagine if someone were to invert that and turn it on themselves._ When the time came to unleash the demons their parents had worked so hard to keep hidden from them, on his targets; Thrawn would do so without hesitation.


	24. Revelations and Trials

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our heroes realize that their trials are far from over as the past is finally unleashed and once these doors are opened, nothing can close them.

_"You know I’ve been hurt before you_  
_know the score_  
_and I know you want more_  
_you want me to go out_

 _You know I get high score_  
_I get cold when you don’t go slow_  
_but I know you want more_  
_you need me to go_

 _And I know you were worth it_  
_and I know this is not going to work_  
_I could only let you win_

 _But I’m freezing_  
_I am not running away_  
_I am not running away_  
_I will feel the pain instead_

 _I am not running again_  
_I am not running again_  
_Even though I am scared_  
_Baby!_

 _And I won’t freeze you out_  
_Like I have been_  
_I won’t freeze you out_  
_I am going to let you win_  
_And I won’t free you out_  
_Like I have been_  
_I won’t freeze you out_  
_My heart is melting_

 _Squeeze my heart for you to hold_  
_Feel the beats, feel the one_  
_blood fall through my throat_

_Beat and go out!_

_Yeah I feel the fervor that I pushed through_  
_had so was love and you wanted more_  
_and so I throw out_

 _And I know you were worth it_  
_and I know this is not going to work_  
_I could only let you win_

 _But I’m freezing_  
_I am not running away_  
_I am not running away_  
_I will feel the pain instead_

 _I am not running again_  
_I am not running again_  
_Even though I am scared_  
_Baby!_

 _I won’t freeze you out_  
_my heart is melting_  
_I won’t freeze you out_  
_my heart is melting_

 _I’m not running away_  
_I’m not running away_  
_I will feel the pain instead_  
_I am not running again_  
_I am not running again_  
_Even though I am scared_  
_Baby!_

 _And I won’t freeze you out_  
_Like I have been_  
_I won’t freeze you out_  
_I am going to let you win_  
_And I won’t free you out_  
_Like I have been_  
_I won’t freeze you out_  
_My heart is melting"_  
**~Freeze You Out by Marina Kaye**

 _"If I touch a burning candle I can feel no pain_  
If you cut me with no knife, it i sstill the same   
And I know that my heart is not beating  
and I know that I am dead  
yet the pain that I feel   
try and tell me it is not real  
and it seems that I still have a tear to shed"  
**~The Corpse Bride (2005)**

Thrawn believed it was time to set his plan into motion. He smiled evilly and told his men to pass the records to Carina Sanders so she could show them to the rebel youths. As for the rest, he had more than enough time for Lieutenant Eddard and his rebel lover to see their parents for who they really were.

Ned asked Bess why they had to meet in this of all places. Bess shrugged. “It was my favorite restaurant when Vader was still a Jedi Knight.”

“It is going to garner us a lot of unwanted attention.” Ned told her.

“Not necessarily.” She whispered something to the hostess who smiled and nodded. She turned to Ned who followed her to their booth. “Mar-An Soltar. She is our head of operations in Coruscant and is best friends with the owner.”

“Now I know where this place has never closed. They are playing both sides.” He said as he made his way next to her. “I am impressed. How long has she been working for you?”

“Us? It is also you, as you said, she is also on your payroll.” Bess said. After they ordered she explained why she was on good terms with Bess and her friends. “While she supplies us with valuable information, she lets the Empire do what they please with suspected rebels. Those are low level personnel so they don’t provide valuable information when it comes to Mar.”

“Again, I am impressed. But this charade won’t last. I got a visit three weeks ago from Captain Sanders.”

“Oh?”

“She is one of the rising stars in the Empire. She is also the woman who was introduced to your mother when she, Catherine and Arthur awoke in their younger bodies.”

“Let me guess.” Bess sighed. “She told my mother what a bad person she was and how royals deserved to die. I’ve heard this argument before. Everyone in the galaxy suffers, what makes her think, her suffering is any more special?”

“You could say that except that she was a little girl back then and she wasn’t alone. A girl from Spain, her parents were conversos, showed the two former queens the crimes committed against them and by that I mean they showed them their scars. And to talk about your last point, what makes Carina so special is that she showed your mother her loins and where one of Cranmer’s best friends raped her while she and her mother were hiding in Scotland.”

Bess was silent, unable to imagine the type of horror the Imperial woman went through as a child.

“Vader then told the two women, your God has abandoned you. The Emperor is your god now.”

Bess smiled sadly. “Vader was always one for dramatics.”

Their food came and Bess thanked them. She grabbed one of the napkins to wipe one of the tears from her eye.

“You sound like you admire him. Not many people do especially after what he did and now that the truth is out about his past, people can’t help but cower in fear or look away in disgust at the man who was once everyone’s hero without fear.”

“They don’t know him like I do, or at least I thought I knew him. For a long time, he and Mary were my only friends. Sure, I had people who thought of me as their big Protestant hope, but I was just a decoration to them. Anakin and Mary were the only ones that saw me as people, not as that or a Princess but as a person. When the two turned I never forgave them.” She paused then resumed, “There is nothing more hateful in this galaxy than failing to protect the ones you love. I tried to stay with Mary for both their sakes until it became too much.”

“That’s when you ran back to your mother and the rebels.”

“Yes. So you can see why Kyra, Luke, Leia, Han, Mary Stuart and Marion are special to me. We are not just a band of brothers, we are family.”

Ned couldn’t help but feel envious. He didn’t get lost in illusions because they were useless. Dreams are what got his father killed when he served as Lord Commander in the Night’s Watch. Dreams are what got his mother raped and abused by Littlefinger and her second husband. The ungrateful North didn’t rally behind her when she raised the banners in his father’s name and that ungrateful lady of Bear Islands, took every chance she got to scorn her. Through his parents’ history, he had learned a valuable lesson: there is no justice in this world unless you make it.

“Were you that close to your family?” Bess asked coyly, playing her games with him again.

He was not in the mood for those this time and shook his head, answering her briefly with, “Sometimes we were, sometimes not. It doesn’t matter.”

“That is sad. I am of the mind that the family that stays together, triumphs.”

“And I am of the mind that those that put their loved ones’ interests above those of survival, don’t make it.” Ned said back taking a bite of his steak. “This is a really good restaurant.” He said, taking the sour taste from his mouth of what Bess had left him thinking with. “Back to Carina Sanders, she has probably infiltrated your base. She is a crafty one. She trained under a former faceless man whom she killed after she passed her training. And she is currently serving Grand Admiral Thrawn.”

Bess dropped her fork. “So you’ve heard of him.”

Bess nodded. “But the Emperor would not be that clumsy … Thrawn can’t be controlled…” Her hand trembled. She had to put the glass of wine down quickly after one miserable sip.

“Does he knows about us? What has she told you?”

“She didn’t tell me anything before I last saw you except the usual warnings.” Ned said. “If the Emperor is using Thrawn is because he is getting desperate and believe me when I say this _Princess_ , Thrawn always wins. **Always**.”

* * *

 Kyra sparred with her half-brothers, Owen and Luke. Each of them got along well when it came to fighting their opponent. They understood that feelings had to be put aside, else they risked their rival winning.

“Come on boys, I am not even getting started.” Kyra teased. From his seat Obi Wan smiled. She had the same expression he had every time he challenged his enemies, most notably Count Doku and General Grievous.

 _“Hello there.” Obi Wan said, landing perfectly as he eyed the droid guard of General Grievous. The general turned to him, his eyes flashing a brighter yellow as they were locked with Obi Wan. He gave a vague threat to him then promised he would use his every resource to destroy him._  
_Obi Wan smiled enthusiastically. ‘Just what I wanted to hear.’_

Owen’s protests brought him back to the present. His other grandchild was berating Luke for letting his anger take hold of him and clouding his judgment.

“I did my best.” Luke said patiently, his eyes flashing angrily at his sister’s half brother.

“Your best? Your best was not enough. You attack too soon your Jedi Highness.”

“Don’t call me that.” Luke said, his voice verging on the edge of desperation. Kyra was always the calm one, Luke on the other hand always let his emotions control him. They make me strong. Kyra was always going about how she was strong but truth was, Luke began to see her as weak. She didn’t see that there were ignorant people out there that thought of her in that fashion. _Every time I tell her about them, she smiles and says she will not let what people say bother her._  
If Luke was in Kyra’s shoes and people treated him like dirt, he would seal their lips shut before they uttered another word.

“That is enough.” Obi Wan said, sensing the darkness coming from Luke. “Owen is right, Luke. Your attacks are becoming too aggressive. Let yourself go and let the Force guide you.”

“I am letting the Force guide me Ben, just like you told me.” Luke said, frustrated that his mentor was taking this Imperial boy’s side.

“He was probably too tired from all those nights he’s spent on Mara’s room.”

“Leave her out of this.” Luke said angrily. Owen smirked, unfazed by Luke’s anger. Yet he couldn’t help but feel Vader when his tone became colder. “Everything was going alright until you let Kyra get to you, pointing out how slow you are.”

“Luke,” Kyra said before her two brothers said something more hurtful that they wouldn’t be able to take back. “Maybe we should resume this tomorrow.” She put her hand on his shoulder and Luke could feel a calmness surge through him. His voice changed and there was no longer anger in his eyes.

“You are right. Until then … Tudor.” He said, turning his back to Ben and Owen. Kyra followed him, giving the two men an apologetic look before leaving the training room.

“And people think that Kyra is going to turn.”

“People are always ignorant to the ways of human nature.” Obi Wan said, echoing what Catherine told him after they started living together on Tatooine. “You did good today Owen but be careful around Luke. I know you care about your sister, but it is imperative that you two don’t fight.”

“Why not? He is reeking of dark energy. You’d have to be a fool not to sense it.”

“Nevertheless, the last thing everyone needs is family members fighting each other.”

“He is not family.”

“He is Kyra’s and your are hers. This has been a difficult adjustment for us, and I can only imagine what it has cost you but I sense the light in you Owen. Light and dark, a perfect balance just like in Luke, Kyra, Leia, Marion, Elizabeth, Mary Stuart and the rest.”

“You still think I can bring back your Jedi Order. No chance.”

“I have  hope, yes. But it won’t be done with you alone, you will need Kyra and the rest. You represent the best side of us, where we failed, you will succeed.”

“Maybe the Jedi should stay dead.”

“Perhaps but everything old is not meant to stay buried forever. When it rises, it rises as something better or as something broken. I have faith that all of you will bring it back from the ashes as something better.

* * *

“Aunt.” Henry Carey then turned to the rest. “Master Kenobi. Queen Catherine, Queen Jane, Sir Thomas. Lady Catherine, Councilor Mon Mothma.”

“Nephew. It is good to see you again.” Anne said. After the pleasantries were done, they headed to the control room where Henry told them all he knew. Just then they received a message through one of their new secure lines from Bess. Her information along with Carey’s proved dire to say the least.

“We have been getting past the Imperials, if we can get past them then Grand Admiral Thrawn is no problem.” Anne said. This alien admiral sounded like he was another social climber who hadn’t gotten the memo. Anne had met plenty of insolent subjects like those in her short time as Consort.

Kyra and Luke and Owen who just came and were briefed immediately, had a different opinion.

“During one of my missions I ran into some complications. My team and I barely made it out alive. The other attacks have been clumsy but these were calculated. They knew exactly where to hit us.” Luke said.

“Moreover, nobody in the Empire gets to have the title of Grand Admiral, much less someone who is inhuman. The Emperor’s racist and sexist attitudes are well known.” Kyra said, then she added. “If the Emperor has him working against us, it is because he is desperate.”

“More reason why we should play all our cards at once.” Jane said, agreeing with her predecessor that they should launch an attack now.

“If we do, all the hope of the galaxy will be crushed. Trust me Your Majesties, Luke and I have been on more missions than anyone can count and the times we have gone our separate ways, we have seen the sheer force the Empire still possesses. If Thrawn is taking his time and not revealed himself to us is because he has something up his sleeve.”

“Commander Kyra I am sure you and your brother Commander Luke are well versed in Imperial tactics, but we have had a lot of experience dealing with pesky politicians.” Sir Thomas said. “We should attack now before it is too late.”

For the first time the former Queen, Catherine of Aragon agreed with her successors and Sir Thomas Seymour.

“You would be signing the death sentence of thousands of pilots. We must wait!” Kyra said hotly.

“Careful there, Commander Skywalker. The rest of the base puts up with you and your brother because you are still the Sun Twins for them, but as senior members of this rebellion and in the Princess Leia’s absence we get to decide.” Sir Thomas said.

Mon Monthma who had been silent finally spoke up, rising elegantly from her chair. She had been a member of the Galactic Senate back in the days of the Old Republic. She was a relic from a forgotten time. People looked up to her. Graceful, callous, nothing got past her.

“Commanders Skywalker and Skywalker will stay on this base and shall head to Felucia to oversee construction of the new Rebel base and the destruction of the last Imperial one.”

“Councilor, you can’t seriously be-“

“That will be enough for now commander” She said raising a hand to silence her, “You and your brother have served us well but given the nature of this assignment, it could get too personal and video records show that you have been very close to touching the dark side of the Force.”

“Far too close.” Catherine said, disappointed that hers and Obi Wan’s greatest pupils were becoming reckless.

“You will hear from us in a month’s time. You may take Corporal Mara Jade and Owen with you. I shall send a message to Lady Elizabeth to join you there.”

“Elizabeth won’t be too happy.” Anne told Mon. Her daughter was getting her head stuck in the clouds, having illusions that she could play “games within games”. The girl had too much Tudor in her, which made her stupid and impossible for Anne to handle. _My daughter is not the best when it comes to being a leader._ Her daughter was also reckless and insolent _. It looks as if this generation is filled with dreamers._ She preferred someone cold, someone who could give them results. Not these idiots.

“She will have to learn to listen.” Mon said after the disappointed youths exited the room. “They all will. Princess Leia and yourself, Lady Marion have been a great help to us. It is time your companions learn about the value of obedience.”

Marion nodded. Mon turned to Henry Carey. “You will help us lead the attack. If you try anything, we will know.”

“You don’t have to worry about me Councilor, I know better than to move against harpies.” He said.

* * *

Bess wasn’t happy. Just as Anne predicted, she made a big scene in front of everyone, earning the looks of disapproval from her elders. Anne had to shut her up and tell her to grow up and do as she was told.

* * *

The Song of Ice and Fire was played. Thrawn closed his eyes, getting lost in the story. The music ended and was replaced by the one of the red and the white rose. So much pain, so much tragedy and so much more to come. He opened his eyes.

Everything was set. The elders were about to act and so were he and the Emperor. Taking the folder where the elders’ dirtiest secrets lay, he scan them and passed the information on a new disk. The one his aide had given his undercover captain would no longer do. This new one would.

After the song of Ice and Fire ended, the rains of Castamere was played.

_And who are you? The proud lord said that I must bow so low?_

The music became somber as it reached the story’s climax.

_And so he spoke, so he spoke the Lord of Castamere …_

_And now the rains weep o’ their halls_

_And not a soul to hear …_

Before him holograms of the death star appeared being blow up by the Sun Twins. It was replaced by the Lars, each holding one of the Skywalker half-siblings.

Thrawn turned to the holo-video that their uncle had recorded where each presented something special to their aunt. Kyra was the first, bold and daring, saying that she was the best and was going to make her aunt smile by singing something she wrote.

_I find it hard to take … when people run in circles it is a very mad world …_

The girl had a good voice for someone so young while the boy showed off his piloting skills, building all kinds of apparatus that made life at the farm easier, and allowed him and his sister to play with state of the art model airplanes.

Such gifted youth. He looked down at the locket that the Stormtroopers had taken from Owen Lars’ neck. His smile widened as he saw the woman in the picture.

* * *

Mary turned to see Anakin. In this new light he looked almost innocent. Almost. “Come to gloat?” She asked, wiping the bruise from her cheek.

He remained silent. She could see there were many things going through his mind. She sensed disappointment, disapproval and confusion.

“I hoped that you didn’t. Don’t you have something better to do? Monitor Admiral Piett’s progress for one?”

“Admiral Firmus Piett is a capable man unlike his predecessors. I don’t have to oversee his progress. I trust him.”

She laughed. “Trust. That’s a new one. You never trusted anyone your entire life. You must be getting soft, maybe the rumors are true that you are starting to turn against His Imperial Highness.” She turned back to the mirror where she wiped the rest of the blood from her lip. “Do you remember when we first met? You were my father’s apprentice and I was still the King’s daughter. You said that I was danced and sang better than anyone and didn’t bother to ask my mother for my hand. You went straight to the King and he said yes.”

“I remember. I meant every word. You were the most beautiful person I ever saw.” He said pulling a chair and sitting next to her.

“Have you ever wondered what life would have been if we never met? If you just let me be and I let you go?”

“When you became Arthur’s play thing, I did and for years I hated you until I realized it was myself I should have hated. You were a wonderful person Mary but they turned you into this and I had a part to play in it.” Mary looked at him, surprised to hear an admission. “I loved Padme because I thought she was the purest being in the entire universe but it has taken me two decades to realize that no one is pure, no one is here on purpose. We are all rotten deep down to our core. There is no good, no evil. We are all alone in the universe.”

“I am glad it has taken you this long to realize it. I wish I had come to the same conclusion, still, I can’t help but wish everyone who’s ever wronged me, to suffer.” Mary said. She gave him a small smile. “You must think I out-monstered you.”

“No. That is the most normal of human emotions and you are the first who has the guts to admit it. You are not a bad person Mary but you have done terrible things, same as I.” He said leaning forward to kiss her.

“We can’t.” She whispered as he drew nearer. She could feel his breath against her cheek. “The Emperor, Arthur …”

“I don’t care. I made a lot of mistakes in my life, I am not about to do another one.” He said and without another warning kissed her.

* * *

If the Emperor asked Piett what his second in command, and Piett’s master, was up to, he would reply with the truth but not this time. He saw the hurt in the dark lord’s eyes whenever he heard the Lady Mary’s name being called or mocked on the holo-net. _It is one of the reasons why I hate terrestrials and the new generation._

They had no idea what it was like to be at the bottom of every bottom. All they cared about was preaching how righteous they were and held themselves as the bastions of truth and justice, but when the chips were down, when they came to face with someone who suffered, they didn’t do a thing to help that person. Instead, they went on about how that person’s terrible experience should be an opportunity to engage in social justice and join the rebellion _“to change the galaxy.”_

Piett had killed one of these kids. A boy by the name of Kalin Averk. A lover of history and active leader of his academy’s social club. He had contact with the rebels and convinced many of his classmates to join the rebel alliance. When they captured him he spat at Vader and told him that he was a traitor to everything good and pure that the Jedi represented. Vader wasted no time showing him the not-so-honorable things his precious rebellion had done. But for every image he showed him, the youth came up with another defense. Not one for tolerating stupidity, he ordered Piett to put him out of his misery.  
Firmus shot him and ordered his aides to send the body to the trash compactor so it would be processed turned into food that would be sent to the poorer sectors of Coruscant.

Seeing his master so happy for once, brought a grin to his face. He thought about what he told him after he asked him about his wife. _“We are creatures of the underworld, Admiral. We enforce the Emperor’s will, we are not meant to be happy. It is a foreign concept to us.”_

It was. But maybe, just maybe, this time around things could be different. _Even monsters deserve to be happy._ Even if it was for a short period.

* * *

Sansa sat in Thrawn’s office. It wasn’t every day that she met with one of the most feared men in the Empire. “Mind telling me why you took my records and my husband’s behind my back and sent one of your aides to tell me your grand scheme?”

“I do but now is not the time for pride. Pride, your father used to say, can kill a man and in a woman it is very dangerous. I am not referring to you but to your … let us say … rival?” Thrawn said pouring wine to their cups. “The Emperor wants the youths, including your offspring, to know about the demons hiding in their parents’ basement. I, on the other hand, want to open the door just slightly so a few are released, peaking their interest. And I believe you can help me.”

“I am listening but harm one of my children and it will be more than just your reputation that will suffer. Understood?”

“Yes, my lady.” Thrawn said, smiling sardonically at the beautiful -and deadly- woman seated across him. It was good to do business with someone who understood the galaxy as much as he did.

He showed her the locket that belonged to Luke and Jane Kyra’s uncle. Sansa’s eyes widened when she looked at the picture. “Impossible. Where did you get this?”

“From the Sun Twins’ uncle. It was his mother’s.”

“That cannot be. She never went offworld …” she lost track then spoke again, more agitated than before. “There must be some mistake.”

“There is none. A blood sample shows that he is indeed her son and she is his mother. I wonder, how this will impact your son’s beautiful interest once she knows. Moreover … Queen Catherine and her saintly daughter.”

At the mention of Queen Catherine and her rival, lady Mary, Sansa’s expression darkened. “They have no right to call themselves royals. They are nothing but hypocrites and so is Catherine’s successor.” She calmed down and asked him, “When can you show this to my son? I want him to find out when he is with that girl.”

“Of course, nothing would be better but lady Sansa, wouldn’t it be more satisfying to have all the youths find their parents’ dirty secrets all at once?” He asked, showing her everything else that he gathered from their other family members.

* * *

Kyra asked Luke why he was so stressed. She had come to terms with him having feelings about Mara. She still didn’t trust her. She just knew the woman was hiding something but didn’t say any more on the subject knowing how much that would upset her sibling. But today was different, Luke was having bad dreams and without thinking twice she barged into his room and woke him up.

“It was horrible. I could see my mother. She was warning me not to let you go. Not to let you see too soon.”

“See what? Luke, you know you can confide in me.” Kyra said slipping under the covers and holding his hand.

Luke nodded.  
There was so much he had seen in his vision. He was afraid. As much as he told himself he was brave, truth was that he was always upset every time he heard his sister, Han, Leia and Marion screaming and he was unable to help them because something held him back.

“Kyra I can’t tell you much but you must promise me, you will always believe.”

“Of course I will, you know I will always follow Master Yoda and Ben’s teachings.”

“No, that is not what I mean.” He held her face. “You must never let others use you. I am so sorry Kyra, I have been reckless. Ben was right. I should have acted better. I wasn’t there for you when others mocked you, when people doubted you. I should have.”

“Luke, I understand. People are always going to be dastardly, that doesn’t matter. What matters is what we do. We are what we do Luke not what others think of us, or what they believe we should be like.” She said, echoing what their uncle’s ghost told her.

“How did I get so lucky having a wise sister like you?”

Kyra blushed. “I am the lucky one for having two brothers who love me.”

“No, we are the lucky ones. You are special Kyra. People have treated you terribly and I have never spoken out because I thought that being the star pilot that I was special but I wasn’t. I am just like everyone else, but you, you are something and I promise you, I am not going to let anyone say anything against you.” He vowed then kissed her lightly on the lips.

Kyra didn’t know what to say. She was touched that Luke had acted like a protective brother for once, and relieved that he saw her as a person rather than someone who was there to please him, and was willing to understand her.

“You should get some sleep Luke. Sun will come up soon on Felucia and you don’t want to be late for a night out with the rest of us.”

“You are right. Bess will be very upset if we are late.” Luke said and both laughed, remembering what a scene she made last time Mary Stuart wasn’t on time because she was deciding what headdress to wear to match her blue clothes.

“See you soon little brother.”

“Hey, I am still the big brother.” Luke said with a grin.

“Yeah, sure whatever you say … little brother.” She said with a laugh, evading a sock he threw at her as she made her way to the door.

* * *

“What do you want, Ned? I am not in the mood.” Lya told Ned when he entered her chambers. “I need to prepare myself for when the rebels attack.”

“I can see that. But don’t you think it’d be better if you abandon that idea and focus on Owen?”

“Why? So I can see his face blown in a thousand pieces by my father’s blaster or being burned alive by his witch?”

“You know our father isn’t that cold. But if he sees him, he will put a whole in his skull.”

“That makes me feel so much better.”

“You can’t help it Lya. I know how it feels.”

“No, you don’t.” Lya told him putting on a diadem that Owen had given to her for her fourteenth birthday two years ago. “You can tell yourself that you do, hanging out with that terrestrial princess, lady or whatever she calls herself these days but it is not the same. Besides, she is five years older than you. How is that for disgusting?”

“I will grant you it was odd at first but she is not that different than our lady mother.”

“So you are with her because she reminds you of our mother? That makes it grosser.” Lya said. “I hope you told her goodbye too because you know she is going to burn as the rest.”

“You are upset.”

“No shit.”

“But wishing for her death and me wishing for her friends’ deaths for kidnapping my best friend and your lover isn’t going to make things better.” He said. “I wish that I could kill them all and bring Owen back but it is not going to happen. The Emperor is cooking something big, Carina Sanders came to visit me a month ago telling me he is hot on everyone’s trail.”

“Carina Sanders? That low-life? I thought she was dead.”

“So did I but she was very serious. We have to be careful. I don’t think we are going to get out of this well.”

“So what do we do then? Nothing?!”

“I don’t know.” Ned said. “I wish I did but I don’t have any answers.”

“Our father would fight.”

“I am not my father. I am not a leader and I don’t want to go against Thrawn of all people. There is a reason why nobody has ever survived him. I don’t want to be another statistic.”

“Pity, so you are going to let Owen and your terrestrial sweetheart die.”

“I would rather not piss him off than risk my life for something I know I am not going to achieve or for someone who is on the other side of the fight.” Ned said. "Furthermore, our lady mother is not a woman anyone wants to cross. Even our lord father won't like it when he hears about you visiting Lady Mary."

"Tell him. I don't care. The Lady Mary at least understands what it feels to lose someone." She turned her back on him, crossing her arms against her chest.

"I am afraid it won't be me who will be telling them. Like I said, the Emperor is desperate and he is using Thrawn. He probably suspects that Vader is getting too close to Lady Mary and don't tell me he is not because you spend a lot of time with her. He fears that the two of them will defect and go to the Rebellion and strike a deal. If that happens it is game over for him so he will replace Vader with Lord Tudor or Thrawn, or both."

"Then His Imperial Highness is not that wise. Nobody can replace Vader, if he does, many Imperials won't fight for his new seconds-in-command. Vader is feared but he is also respected."

"True but whereas Vader had weaknesses, Lord Tudor and Thrawn have not and in the long run, people will prefer someone as terrible as they are, if it means victory."

"What about us? My mother wants me to marry some big shot and after she is done with me, she and father will turn to you and you won't be able to say no anymore."

"I have my ways and I keep myself safe which is something you should start doing."

Lya could hear no more, she told him to get out. Ned sighed. What was it with people and their passions these days? Seriously! He loved Bess. At least he thought he did, but he was not stupid. Only an insane person would take those kinds of risks.

* * *

What Ned’s sister didn’t know is that he was becoming more like his father every day. Jon sighed when he saw as he came aboard the Star Destroyer “Executor” that Vader was exiting Mary and Arthur’s chambers. There was a naughty smile on his lips. Before he could be out of sight, engulfed by the shadows of the dark hallway, Mary came out and kissed him.

 _Feelings._ It was times like these that he was glad he didn’t invest in sentimentality, especially when it came to love. As bad as his wife was, she wasn’t afraid to do what was needed to keep him and his family alive.

"You are unbelievable, you know that." Jon told Vader once he'd gotten him alone in his office. 

"You are going to hurt yourself and her as well, if you continue this."

"I don't know what you are talking about, Jon. You should tend to your flock. I heard your son is after the former Princess of England, lady Elizabeth."

"I do tend to my flock and they understand that once I give an order they should follow it. You know why Sansa and I have stayed together all these years?"

"No and I do not care to hear it but you are going to tell me either way." He said, leaning back against his chair, passing a hand through his dark blond hair -which had gotten darker this past year.

"It's because of survival. Sansa saw a chance in re-taking Winterfell and acquiring revenge against Ramsay and as for me, it was my chance to take back what was rightfully our family's. I don't presume to have done the right thing, I have done a lot of terrible things but unlike you and Mary I never convinced myself it was the right thing. I knew what I was doing, so did Sansa. And that made us proud. If I could go back, I would kill as many innocents as it took to keep what we built and our family safe." Jon said. "You are never going to obtain that with Mary. People hate her but they respect you. And as history on Earth has shown us, they will always blame women for men's falls. You can still get out of this Anakin."

"Are you warning me Jon?"

"No, I am advising you as your colleague and your friend. Don't be foolish, don't lose everything you work hard for, for love." Jon said and turned around but Vader's voice made him turn again.

"I love her, nothing is going to change that. You told me that I loved Padme and I said yes, I lied. The reason why I lied is because I did believe I loved Padme ... once ... but I was a child with no other figure to look up to and suddenly she comes, a girl with money, good clothes, good name and beautiful and the first thing I ask her is 'are you an angel?' She was so desperate for normalcy that when we met again ten years later, we rushed into marriage. We never measured the consequences and we became possessive of one another. When Padme found out about me and Mary she threatened to expose her, not just shame her in front of her peers and the rest of Earth, but also reveal her first miscarriage."

Jon's eyebrows knit in confusion. "What?"

"Mary and I were expecting a child months before Padme found out. Padme somehow learned about it and threatened to use that against her. Her reputation would be shamed, everyone would mock her and use her dead child as proof that she was unholy. I didn't say anything because I just wanted it to end but a year later I found Mary again and one thing led to another which led to her second pregnancy with Jane Kyra." Vader, now Anakin again, smiled sadly. "I never told this to anyone. To this day, it remains a well guarded secret."

"More reason why you should end it now."

"I can't. Arthur mistreats her every time he gets, I am not going to let her put up with that anymore."

"Why not? People suffer all the time. Life is hard, you should let things run their course. Think about your offspring, surely they are more important than her." Jon said but Vader shook his head.

Jon left his friend's office frustrated. Anakin was going to hate him. If he was him, he would but it was the only way to put a stop to this nonsense. Using his com-link, he relayed part of the conversation to Arthur Tudor.

 _May the old gods forgive me._ A part of him, one he had struggled to come to terms for years, had taken over him and it was growing stronger as the Empire was growing to desperate. That side, from his Targaryen ancestors, told him not to hesitate, to do what had to be done in order to safeguard his interests.

* * *

Carina was attacked by two idiots in the middle of the night. She dealt with them but didn't think that one of them had another card up his sleeve so when he hit her from behind she howled in pain. Luckily for her, farm-boy's sister was near and she answered her pain call by fending him off and knocking him unconscious. 

"You okay?" Carina nodded and still under the guise of Mara Jade, took Kyra's hand. 

"Thanks." She forced herself to say. Maybe this goody-two-shoes is not so goody after all. It was very rare for her to admire someone's skills that were superior to hers. This was one of those times.

"You move very fast. Luke said that you were very slow when it came to your kicks. Guess, I was wrong farm girl."

"Luke always loves to show himself as the best fighter but between you and me, he is only good when he is just fighting another angry, happy-gun moron." She said referring to most of the men on the base. Carina couldn't help but laugh at that. 

"So? What were you doing here at this hour?"

"I just needed a breath of fresh air. I am not used to being away from the action."

"I totally get you, girl. I would love to be the lead in the next attack but Luke probably told you how my big mouth got us all here."

"He said something along those lines, except he added that you were the only one who made sense there." Carina said, recalling what he told her in one of their many pillow talks.

"We should get back to base. Who knows what other creeps may be lurking."

Carina agreed. When they got there, Kyra cursed.

"What is it?"

"I forgot, today is Bess' homecoming for us. I have nothing good to wear. We must get you something for you too!" Kyra said and before Carina could protest, she took her hand and took her to her room and showed her all the dresses she and her female friends had _borrowed_ from Coruscant boutiques.

"This is too much, we can just show up in our uniforms. I am sure the Earth Princess won't mind." Carina said, not happy at the prospect of interacting with the royal spawn. Although Bess Tudor had been told by Lieutenant Targaryen-Stark about her, he hadn't given her a description and given her new hair color and eyes, she would not recognize. Still, she doubted she could stand being in the same room with her.

"No. This is special. It is the first time we get to party and besides you will get to have a private dance with Luke. You do know how to dance, right?"

Carina nodded. Of course she did. There were many times she had attended courtly factions at the Imperial palace and under the wing of some of the most prominent officers, she had learned a lot about feminine etiquette.

"Then it is settled." She pulled a purple dress. "This totally fits you and this too." She showed her a pearl diadem.

"Thanks ... but this is too much."

"Nonsense. Nothing is too much for my brother's girlfriend."

"I am not his girlfriend, we haven't ... I mean we have but we are not a couple or anything."

"Whatever then, you are still into each other so you get to wear this. Luke will not resist." She said with a wink.

Carina was more confused than ever. She always thought of this girl as weak, imbecile and possibly jealous because she had stolen her man but here she was, acting like Carina was part of her family.

She was at a total loss of words. For once in her life, she was unsure what to think but all she could make out through the girl's smile was that her feelings of well-being towards Carina, or Mara in this case, were genuine.

"Can I ask you something?" She asked Luke's sister after the two were done putting on their gowns.

"Of course." Kyra said with an open smile, adjusting her tiara.

"Why are you so kind to me? I thought you and Luke were close. Shouldn't you be angry?"

"I was ... at first but you make my brother happy and that is all that matters and I will always love Luke. Luke and I are more than brother and sister, but that doesn't mean that we can't be happy with other people and besides, he needs someone who sets him on the right path because let's face it, he loves shunning others from his pain."

That was true. Carina had tried to make him talk about his past but Luke always gave her the same answer 'you wouldn't understand'. Thankfully she did, more than he imagined and she had a way to get the truth out of him by not putting up with his nonsense and telling him so.

"Your brother is very hard on himself. He keeps talking about confronting Vader and wishing his death but I don't think he really wants to kill your father."

"I don't think so either." Kyra agreed. "But I am afraid for him."

"You're wise to be. I can't imagine it is easy on either of you, but especially on whom all hopes are centered on, to find that your father is the greatest evil besides the Emperor in the galaxy."

"Luke believes like our father that everything is absolute, this is that way, this other thing runs that way but I keep telling him that things are never absolute. I am still hoping he finds out in time."

"What about you?" Carina asked.

"I am going to do what I feel is best for me." Her companion asked her to elaborate. "My uncle once said we do what we are, and this is what I am. I have been caring for others for so long that I've lost sight of who I am. People love to call me things and I never cared, I still don't but after this is over I am going to work hard on rebuilding the Jedi Order and also doing what I love."

"What is that?" Carina asked, deeply intrigued.

"Writing books, drawing and hearing people bitching and then pointing out what losers they are." Kyra said with a laugh and Carina joined her.

Unaware to them, one Imperial drone was watching and after it flew past Rebels defenses, it recorded their conversation. It was relayed back to Thrawn. He was not disappointed as the Emperor was. One of the reasons he loved working with people, even lost souls like Carina Sanders, was because they had a purpose. Even when they failed, they were useful. 

He told one of his corporals to send the first piece of information to the Lady Mary. The poor woman had been punished enough for her husband, she needed something more tragic to cry over and what better thing than this. 

"And the other disk, Sir?"

"Send it to the Rebel heroes in Felucia. Make sure they all see it after their elders' surprise attack fails." He told him. 

The time had come for the gates of hell to be opened.

* * *

 It is said that truth will set you free. It is also said that before it does, it will piss you off. Well, one thing was for sure. The truth did piss them off.

After the failed rebel attack, just as Kyra and the rest predicted, the elders and Princess Leia, Henry Carey and Marion had come to Felucia to tell them the bad news. The minute they stepped on the mess hall, they were cornered by the youths who showed them the disk they had  _graciously received_ from the Empire.

Trust and love were shattered in an instant.

**~o~**

On the other side, aboard Vader's Star Destroyer, the dark lord of the Sith threw everything across his room. Deep down he had suspected the Separatists, even the Jedi had something to do with Mary's miscarriage. For a time he even went so far as to think she had done it to gain attention, but he never fathomed the thought that Padme's family was behind it.

There as clear as day was the holo-vid of Padme's parents celebrating their daughter's reunion with him.  _Obi Wan had been right all along. I should have never gotten involved with politicians. I thought I could have it all and instead, I paid a high price._

He wondered if Padme knew. Of course she didn't. Padme was jealous as he was (once) but she would have never been part of this. Nonetheless, she must have suspected it. _Why didn't she tell me?_

 _I can't let Mary see this._ Unfortunately, she had. She was on her and Arthur's chambers, sprawled on the bed after he had his way with her, sobbing as he told her the dark truth behind her first miscarriage.

 _No!_ Her baby. Her first baby. A boy, dead because of _that_ family. Mary never felt more broken in her life. _Why?!_

Why did they hate me so much? She wiped the tears from her face and like Anakin had done in his office, rose once Arthur left and threw everything she could find across the room. Why did everything keep happening to her?

Two figures she had initially ignored appeared again. Elizabeth of York and Elizabeth Woodville told her they understood. 

"What do you understand? You used me when I was a goddess to kill an innocent life and countless other times to punish Henry Tudor. You don't understand anything."

"We do." Elizabeth of York said. "We tried to warn you that something was amiss. We didn't know it had to do with the Naberries before your second pregnancy but we sensed something was not right when you confronted Padme's niece five years ago."

"I didn't do anything. I didn't know that Anakin was even married to their daughter back then. Why did they hate me so much?"

Elizabeth Woodville sighed, putting a hand on her shoulder. "They knew you were the reincarnation of a river goddess, and more importantly they knew that you were married to their younger daughter's husband. They didn't want you getting in the way."

Mary closed her eyes. I was so foolish. "I thought that Anakin and I could be together, I was so wrong."

"You are not." A voice said. A voice they all knew to well.

"What are you doing here? Your family did this to me." Mary said to her late rival. She looked beautiful as the day she confronted and threatened. "Did you know at the time?"

"I didn't but I suspected." Padme said. "I wanted Anakin so bad that the thought of him being in love with someone else, drove me mad so I told myself that it was your fault and helped Ani reach that conclusion."

"Well congratulations, your family got what they wanted. I have nothing left."

"That is not true, you have a lot of things to live for. You have what I never got, a second chance with a man who loves you. I tried to hold on to Anakin because I loved him but all this time he loved you. If you are wise, you will take this chance and leave with him."

"I can't." Mary said, feeling like her dead rival. Dead. "I can't." She repeated and she went to bed, closing her eyes, getting lost in a sea of memories and would-have-beens.


	25. Disarm me with the Truth

_“I am heading straight to the castle_  
They want to make their queen  
and there is an old man sitting on the throne  
saying I probably shouldn’t be so mean  
They’ve got the kingdom locked up  
And there is an old man sitting on the throne  
saying I should keep my pretty mouth shut…”  
**~Castle by Halsey (Huntsman’s War Soundtrack)**

Not all the rebels finished the disk. The first ones that had been privy to it had been Leia and Marion and what they saw, made the ground underneath them shake. By the time everyone had arrived, they let them see only enough so when the elders came they’d be hounded by merciless youths.

Before them, the conversation between the Naberrie family was played out, discussing the lady Mary’s miscarriage, then Anne’s secret marriage to Percy, her involvement in arranging for her sister’s second husband’s execution; Jane’s father boasting of his male prowess as he told his eldest son how he wasn’t man enough to look after his first woman whom he deflowered. Catherine’s affair with Obi Wan, Padme’s secret dealings with other Senators that became the founders of the rebellion, the slavers that Anakin Skywalker had gone after and the Jedi forgave for their participation in bringing down the Separatist ships. Protestants and Catholics on earth murdering each other, and laughing as the other was burned or tortured, and finally a child with brown hair, blue eyes of five, being held by a beautiful woman with dark auburn hair and brown eyes.

“Arrest this woman!” Anne bellowed. Catherine nodded to the guards as Mon Mothma and Leia told the others to restrain Luke and the rest.

“No!” Luke cried using the Force. He sent some of them flying and rushed to Mara’s side.

“This woman is an Imperial and a traitor. She must be questioned.”

“Over my dead body.” Luke said and Kyra ran to his side, echoing the same feelings as her brother. “We are not going to let you take her.” She said.

“You can argue all you want Kyra but Lady Anne is right, the evidence against Carina Sanders is irrefutable. The Emperor could know where we are for all we know.”

“He doesn’t.” Carina said looking at Luke with guilt. He had known, a part of him always did, that there was more to her than met the eye but it hurt him to know that his suspicions had been right. “Luke I am so sorry, you have to understand I had no choice. She and the rest took my home from me, the Emperor promised me mercy where you promised me enslavement.” She said turning to look at the three former queens.

“The Emperor promised you mercy?” Catherine asked, chuckling coldly at the younger woman. “The Emperor promised you revenge and just like a power-hungry Moff you took it. You are no better than his assassins.”

“At least he gave me a choice. What did you, lady Anne or lady Jane ever gave me but chains? You took me from my mother under the guise of guardianship and then you sent me to those priests to be re-educated. You never looked at me like a person, you looked at me like your pet-project.” There were tears streaming down Carina’s cheeks. “Then Cranmer said that I needed to go to the next level and proclaimed my loyalty to the true faith. He sent me for further re-education up North after Queen Anne was killed and Jane became Queen. He was nothing but hostile towards me. Criticizing my every move, saying I wasn’t good enough, I had to rid myself of doubt. What about his doubts? What about the people who didn’t agree with him? When a Protestant was killed he would cry and pray for his soul but a Catholic or a non-believer?” She laughed. “He would not even blink twice when the King signed the death warrants of the rebels in the North. I wasn’t allowed to have an opinion.”

“Yes, we have all heard of that. But your protests against Anne and I bare no merit when many pilots died because of what you told your master.” Catherine said while Anne eyed her as she eyed every subject when she was queen, as if she was just another insect that needed to be squashed.  
Carina never felt more hatred for these two women than what she felt now. If she had the Force as Luke and the rest did, she would use it to kill every one of them and force their subjects to watch as their icons groveled on the floor for mercy.

“From what you are telling us” Catherine continued, not done with the girl. “it looks like you are still in need of a teacher. Maybe it is not your fate to die, maybe it is but one thing is clear, you are going to be in the detention center until Princess Leia and Mon Mothma decide what to do with you.”

“Good, the farther I am from you and all the other hypocrites of Earth the better. Just being near you, makes me sick.” She spit twice, her spit landed on Catherine and Anne’s shoes.

Luke tried to free her but Obi Wan held him back and his sister was also held back, by her other half-brother.

“Why don’t you arrest him instead? He is an Imperial and you are treating like a guest!” Luke said turning to Owen.

“Just try it Your Jedi Highness, just try it and I swear my fist will land on your face.” Owen barked struggling to hold his older sibling.

Luke growled. The doors behind them had closed. Obi Wan let him go. Luke looked at Mon and Leia. “Why don’t you give her the benefit of the doubt? She didn’t know.”

“She did Luke.” Mon said. “The Emperor could not have anticipated a rebel attack of this magnitude unless he had a plant in the rebellion.”

“The rebel attack was clumsy, that is why he knew!” Kyra cried, reminding them of what she and her brother had warned them weeks ago about attacking a highly protected Imperial convoy. “It was what Thrawn wanted. Owen, you said that Thrawn is always one step ahead of everyone, right?” Owen nodded. “Then there you have it. Thrawn led us to the point, where we would be so over-confident, especially our elders whose experience would lead them to believe they knew what was best for all of us. He played you and you fell into his trap.”

“We didn’t do such thing little Jedi and I would respect my elders if I were you.” Sir Thomas said.

“And I would keep my silence when better mouths are speaking.” Bess said.

“Elizabeth!”

“No mother. Carina’s only fault here was in seeing all of you as you really are.”

“This is not the time for your philosophical nonsense dear.”

“Shut up mother!” Bess yelled, surprising everyone who had never seen Bess disrespect her mother. Catherine was also alarmed as she had grown fond of Bess, although her attitude annoyed her at times, and told the young woman not to raise her voice at her mother.

“I can do as I please because it is thanks to you that the Rebellion is in tatters. Kyra tried to warn you, I tried to warn you. We all did but did you ever listen?”

“Everything I’ve done has been for you Bess, if I am over protective at times it is because I want to protect you. This is not just about the attack, it is about whether you and your friends are able to listen.” Anne said.

“You are right, it is not just about the attack. It is about what Thrawn sent us. You lied to us.”

Anne looked away.

Luke looked at Obi Wan square in the eye. “Why didn’t you tell me that my mother’s family was so desperate to have my father as their son-in-law they caused my sister’s mother’s miscarriage?”

“I didn’t know, Luke.” Obi Wan said earnestly.

“You didn’t? I find that hard to believe. You are supposed to know everything Ben. Don’t tell me it never crossed your mind?”

“Luke,” Obi Wan sighed, rubbing his hand against his temples. “the Naberries were close friends of mine and it was a difficult time for your father. If he found out about what they’d done, he would have turned to the dark side much sooner than he did.”

“So you did know.” Kyra said.  Obi Wan turned to his granddaughter.

“Kyra, I didn’t, I suspected but I couldn’t say anything. It would have destroyed your father.”

“So my mother could just wallow in misery because she didn’t matter, then?” Kyra asked. She wasn’t angry, just disappointed.

“She did matter.” Catherine told her granddaughter, “But …”

“But what?” Owen asked, he had been patient for his sister’s sake but it was thinning.

“Senator Padme Amidala Naberrie represented a hope for the galaxy.”

Luke laughed at that. It wasn’t a good laugh, or even a healthy laugh. It was a laugh that reminded everyone of Vader when he tormented the rebels.

“Hope? You wanted hope? You let one woman become corrupted, you manipulated my father and for what? For something that never came!”

“Luke control your anger.”

“I am tired of controlling myself, everything Kyra and I knew was a lie. What else have you been lying about? No, don’t answer. Thrawn was _kind_ enough to give it in your stead.” He showed the holo image of his uncle’s locket. Inside was a woman that their elders knew too well.

“Did you throw her under the bus for the sake of your ‘hope’?” Luke asked.

Catherine shook her head. “If you can let me explain.”

“We are tired of your explanations. Just tell us why.”

“And make sure you are precise.” Kyra said.

“Because we will know if you are lying.” Bess added.

“After all, we learned from the best liars.” Mary Stuart said lastly.

* * *

Luke was let in her room. “So, how did it go?”

“They are going to let you live as long as you give them valuable information about the Empire, even if you do not, I will find a way to make them see you are useful.”

“Thank you.” Carina said, avoiding his angry glare.

“Why did you lie? You could have told me the truth from the beginning. I wouldn’t have judged you. My sister stuck her neck for you as well, she would have accepted you too.”

“I couldn’t.”

“Why not? We are on the right side of the fight here Ma-Carina, I would have protected you against Thrawn.”

“Nobody can protect anyone, that is the truth. Thrawn succeeds every time because he studies his enemy. I knew what I was getting into when the Emperor reassigned me to work with him. I didn’t factor in falling in love with you.”

“More reason for you to turn your back on him. Show him that you are not his slave anymore.”

“I can’t Luke. He is too smart. I know you think you and your friends can take on everyone but this is different. We are not talking about your father, and a few ambitious Moffs, you are in the big leagues now and they -like you- know what is coming and they will do everything in their power to keep you from achieving your goal.”

“Everyone since I was a child told me this was impossible and I always proved them wrong.” Luke said, he reached across the table for her hands. She didn’t pull away. The red dye had begun to wear out, revealing her strawberry blond hair and without her contacts, he saw her as she really was, and like before, got lost in her ocean eyes.

“The Emperor can say all he wants about peace and justice but it is not justice when millions are being tortured and pushed out of their homes because they voice disagreement.”

“It is better than living under royals whose only care is to convert you to make you the perfect servant.” Carina said. “I didn’t know that Thrawn had that under his sleeve. He kept saying ‘wait’, I have something for them. I thought it was something about Vader, I didn’t think it was this.”

Luke was silent for a moment then he spoke again, his voice was more solemn. “Uncle Owen never talked about his mother. Shmni was his mother and he would take me and Kyra to pay respects to her grave every month. Days were hard on Tatooine. They lasted more than nights do on other planets and often my sister and I would beg our uncle to head back home but he’d tell us to stay put. ‘ _Your grandmother,_ ’ he’d say _‘was a good woman.’_ Then he turned to Kyra ‘you remind me of her’ and then to me ‘both of you have her noble spirit. Never let anyone take it from you.’ I wonder if he knew about his real mother and that is why he hated royalty so much.”

Carina shrugged. “I doubt it. After she returned to Earth, the Boleyns in agreement with the Emperor and your Jedi mentor’s lover, sold her back to her Imperial son and the rest as they say is history.”

“According to official records, she was vital to one secret Republic mission. The records never specify what but Thrawn must have connected the dots once he saw your uncle’s locket.”

Luke felt sorry for his uncle. All these years believing he was an orphan when the real orphan had been his uncle _. And he died without knowing the truth_. He felt deep hatred for the Empire. They had taken everything from them.

“Is Queen Juana really dead?” Luke had to ask. The former queens were unwilling to answer that. Catherine saying that it was for her sister’s best interest while Anne saying that there was a lot of money to be gained from her return and her father needed to feel important.  
If she is alive, I will find her and tell her all about the fine man her son grew up to be.

Unfortunately, Carina disappointed him.

“No.” She said. “She died in 1551 or well … nine years ago.” She bit her lip, angry that she had let that little slip-up happen. After she graduated from the Imperial Academy, she swore she would have nothing to do with Earth and would start using the Imperial calendar.

“I am sorry Luke. I really am. I know how much he meant to you.”

Luke nodded. Truth to be told, he meant for Kyra. After he was done with Carina, he went to his sister and relayed everything Carina told her.

“Everyone we love is truly gone then.” Kyra said looking down.

“Not everyone. We still have each other, Bess, Mary Stuart, Leia, Marion, Han and Owen.”

Kyra looked up at him surprised.

“I still think he is an insufferable idiot but he loves you and I will put up with him for you.”

She smiled at him. “Thank you Luke.”

“We will beat them and we will make a better world than our parents, right?” She asked him as they turned on the holos and the Emperor appeared telling everyone that the Rebellion’s days were numbered.”

“We will.” Luke promised, fully committed that in the aftermath of the Empire’s destruction he and Kyra would bring back the Jedi Order. He would make it an honorable institution. _Just like it was meant to be. I won’t repeat my ancestors’ mistakes._

* * *

Lya barged in her father’s office. Jon ordered everyone out. “I hope you have a good excuse for this.”

“You killed Olly and his entire family.”

“I did.” He said calmly. “You have been going soft. What was the first lesson I taught you when you face an opponent? Be merciless, he won’t fight clean, you mustn’t either.”

“But he had a family. A child and you killed it.”

“Olly broke his vows to the Night’s Watch, I had to teach him a lesson.”

“Then why didn’t you hung him?” Jon sighed and walked to his daughter. “You used to be one of the greatest commanders of the Night’s Watch before it was destroyed. People called you ‘honorable Jon. The true King of the North. His song is the song of ice and fire. The Promised one.’ What happened to you?”

“Lya, you are going to find a lot of cold truths in this world. Thrawn has unleashed the ultimate package to the rebels and your boyfriend’s Jedi family, now I will unleash mine before your brother tells you. I don’t love your mother. I never did.”

“I know. I am not stupid.”

“That is not all.” Jon said. “I care for her because we grew up together as siblings and after I killed her piece of shit husband, we had no one to rely on but ourselves. She became my confidant, my adviser and I, her protector. Then, when Anakin turned to the dark side, he offered me something and I didn’t refuse. I spit on my honor, my vows, and everything else I knew and  loved because I saw the galaxy as it really is. There is no good, no evil. Nobody is here on purpose. No matter how special someone tells him or herself she or he is, in the end they are all going to die and there will be nothing left to remember them by, except their memory and that is preserved by their descendants. You remind me a lot of my dear cousin, Arya. I loved her as a sister, more than I loved the rest. It was painful for me to learn what she had become, the people she had joined and how she turned against me. I didn’t want to kill her but she gave me no option.  
You have her spirit and my mother’s, my true mother but … don’t make their same mistakes. Lyanna Stark brought chaos to an entire kingdom when she fell in love with Rhaegar and didn’t care whom she hurt as long as she could play Princess and then her niece caused the death of my wife’s direwolf because she thought herself better than any royal.”

“I am not those women” Lya assured him, “but I won’t sit idly by while you and mother play with our lives.” She said referring to Ned.

“We all play with each other. It is the great game and you are in it now Lya, one misstep and you could lose everything and I don’t mean your life but your family. The Emperor is becoming more desperate and if he finds out you entertain thoughts about running with that boy, he will come after us.” Jon said darkly, eying his daughter.

“I don’t care what the Emperor thinks. If he comes after me or Ned, I will be prepared.”

Jon sat back in his chair, looking sadder after his daughter spoke and turned on her heel to leave.

“You are a good leader, better than brother, do not ruin it.” He said lastly but she didn’t listen.

* * *

_A four year old Owen visited his parents' bedroom. His father was in the market square buying new parts to fix the vaporators. A great sandstorm had delayed him and he sent one of his best friends and neighbors to tell Owen and his mother that he wasn't going to come until the storm was over which meant a day or more. So Owen had his mom all to himself but instead of being happy, she was sad._

_His dad told him that his mom had a hard past and she didn't like talking about it, but he couldn't help it. He was a dutiful son, but he wanted to know more about his mother's past and if she had sisters as she said she did, then he wanted to meet them so he could play with their children._

_He surprised her by bringing her a desert flower. "It is beautiful." She said with a small smile. "Were you careful not to uproot it?" Owen nodded. "Good, these are very special flowers you know, they grow in the harshest climates and some people say they are an oddity."_

_"I know, you said they shouldn't exist."_

_"No mi amor, I didn't say that, I said some people think they shouldn't but I am glad they do because then my special boy wouldn't have surprised with such wonderful gift. Come lie next to mommy." Owen got on the bed and his mother embraced him._

_ _

_"I love you Owen."_

_"I love you too mommy. Why are you sad? Daddy says I shouldn't ask you but you have been sad a lot lately."_

_"I am just tired Owen, I have a lot on my mind ..." She said, lost in her thoughts again. It wasn't so long ago that she had another boy like this, in her arms. 'But I had been so angry, so jealous.' They called her "Juana la Loca" (Juana the Mad) because she was possessive, because_ she didn't listen to her parents, because she didn't want to hear confession and lastly because she didn't have motherly instincts.  
_'But I was so young back then.' Juana wasn't prepared to leave home. And her mother didn't want her to, but there was another side of Isabel that made her almost relieved she did because she always thought of Juana as arrogant and a failure. Then when she came back, was it a surprise to her saintly mother that she came back a defeated woman?_  
_'I was not strong. I didn't stand up to my husband because I thought it was wrong and my mother thought I was weak.' Her sisters fared little better, but at least they had the support of their parents. Maria was not happy marrying their late sister's husband but she was familiar with Portuguese culture which was so similar to theirs and mother and father sent her jewels and as much legal scholars as they could muster, to make sure her husband would never lay a hand on her. And Catalina ... well dear Catalina had a hard time but her father didn't feel the need to send her anything because Juana's little sister had always been independent and therefore, could manage things well on her own._

_Seeing Owen, so obedient, so eager to please. He was the complete opposite of his big brother, and yet they both looked so alike. 'Was this fate's way of saying I deserve this miserly existence?' It had taken her a lot of time getting used to Cliegg's way of living but in the end, they'd managed._

_'He saved me from my captivity. Cliegg had been working with the Republic. He hated his meager farm and wanted to explore the stars so he enlisted in the army when he was young. The high officers saw potential in him so they sent him as their ambassador to treat with Earth. But when he came across Spain, he heard stories about the 'captive Queen' and how her father had taken over her kingdom. Cliegg didn't care. He had enlisted under a fake name. Tatooine had a bad reputation, being a slaving planet and all and  if he said he came from a farm, people would have made fun of him. So he was not interested in throwing all that away for a woman that for all he knew, deserved her imprisonment. But when her father presented them, telling Cliegg that she was the key to ruling Castile, he couldn't resist._

_He began to meet her in secret until one day he kissed her and told her that they should run. She told him he was crazy. She had a daughter with her on Tordesillas; it would be irresponsible to abandon her but Cliegg didn't care. He told her, her daughter was like her namesake Catalina, independent, and could take care of herself._

_She was so desperate that she accepted. After they ran, the Republic began looking for them. The two later found out that the official news the Republican army ran through their channels was that she had been going on a secret mission as her father's ambassador and would return to Castile soon._

_She and Cliegg settled on his parents' farm. 'It isn't much' -he told her when they arrived- 'but we can make it.' And by God, they did make it. Soon afterwards she found out she was pregnant. Juana hoped that it was a girl. She had enough of men. All the men in her family had hurt her. Even if this was Cliegg's boy, she didn't want to see his face if it was a boy. But when the local midwife placed the baby in her arms, she was filled with pure joy._

_Owen was the name they chose for him and unlike her previous sons, he was entirely hers._

_Brought to the present by her son's giggles who kissed her wrist, she resumed and added, "I promise I will be better soon and we can play all day, all night if you'd like to."_

_"I'd like that. Mommy?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"I was thinking ..."_

_"What was my big boy thinking?" She asked with a smile._

_"If I ever marry and have kids and one of them is a girl, I want to name her Jane, just like you."_

_"That is beautiful, thank you mi amor." She said kissing his head. "You will treat her well, you understand?"_

_"Of course I will. I will be a good parent just like you and daddy."_

_"I know you will. I am very proud of you Owen, very proud. You must promise me something."_

_"Anything." Owen said turning his head to meet her sad eyes._

_"Promise me you will never turn like them. Ever. And you won't let your kids turn like them either."_

_"I promise you mommy but who are they?"_

_"You will know some day but you must promise me you will never let that happen. Promise me."_

_"I promise." Owen repeated, puzzled by what his mommy was saying._

_"Good boy. You will make a good father, I am sure of it."_

* * *

 

Owen visited Kyra. Kyra embraced him. She was happy to see him again. “Why didn’t you tell me?” She asked him.

“My father always refused to talk about my mother. He said that she loved playing Princesses when she was young and had many sisters as my father once had brothers. I never took him seriously.” Owen said, letting go and leading her to the couch next to her bed. “I wanted to tell you after I was reunited with her, but I wasn’t sure how you’d take it.”

“What was she like? Your mother.”

“She was a good woman. Funny but sad. I turned four when she finally told me about her past. I can’t remember much, just images but she was very sad. She said ‘Owen be good, don’t turn out like them.’”

“That’s the same thing you told me.” Kyra said and Owen nodded.

“You are a good person Jane.” He said, still using the name he and Beru had grown more used to. He held her chin. “Smart, delicate but also strong. Like I said, you remind me of that flower, the one that grows in the darkness. It is a flower that shouldn’t exist but it does and every time I saw your smile I would remember my stepmother and how she’d always see the good in everyone, even the most wretched scum. Never change.”

Jane Kyra understood. She had to embrace who she was, not just the cheerleader Jane who was eager to please everyone, or the hardened Kyra, but both sides of the spectrum if she wanted to defeat the Empire. And she also understood what Owen meant by not turning out like ‘ ** _them’_**. Owen never had a good opinion of terrestrials and after finding out who his mother was, it had become worse. But he was not blinded by hatred in the way some in the base and the Empire were, not to see the goodness in some of them.

“I promise I won’t.” Jane Kyra said and hugged him again. She felt her uncle’s arms around her. They weren’t cold like last time, they were warm.

Jane Kyra didn’t want this to end. She wanted them to stay like this, frozen in time. But that would be asking too much. She had to come to terms with where he was, and where she belonged to. Slowly coming apart, uncle and niece looked at each other for a long time.

“I miss you.”

“I know. But I will always be here watching.”

* * *

Leia asked the former Jedi Master how they could recover from this mess. “There is no easy answer. The best we can do is come clean before Thrawn or the Emperor does it for us.”

Leia nodded. However after she and Marion had finished the rest of the disk, they were unsure how Luke, Kyra, Bess and Mary Stuart would react. Even Owen would be less hesitant to restrain this sister this time around.

“Deep down I always knew he was my brother. It must sound funny to you, that I was attracted to a part of myself when I kissed him.” Leia said turning to the old Jedi.

“Yes, it was a little odd but Jedis broke the rules all the time when it came to copulation.” Obi Wan said earning a raised eyebrow from Leia.

“Really? That is not something my father talked about very much.”

“Bail had a lot of respect for the institution so he devoted his entire life to making sure nothing corrupted what was left of it. But even he had to admit that there were flaws in the code. You know why he and Breha never had any children?” Leia nodded. “Their marriage was purely political and Breha had her affairs from time to time just as Bail. One of these Jedis was Luminara Undilli. Bail told me after your real father turned to the dark side that he felt saddened by the loss of a friend.”

“Did the Jedi Council know about this?”

“They did but as long as there were no attachments, they didn’t mind. The same was in the Night’s Watch. Despite their vows, rumor has it that many bows went to the town nearby to spend one night with some of the women there.” Obi Wans then added, seeing her discomfort, “No order is perfect Your Highness. Master Yoda and Master Windu tried to cleanse our order from its sins but you can’t eliminate nature. Most beings are designed for sex, especially humans.”

“Is that why you slept with the Duchess after you ended your affair with Kyra’s grandmother?”

“I didn’t mean to. But Satine reminded me of Catherine. I always felt guilty afterwards. She really came to love me and I told myself at the time that if she had asked me so, I would have left the Jedi Order and had the life I always imagined with Catherine but after she died, I confessed to myself that I never loved her. I just loved what she represented and just as I accused Catherine of toying with my feelings, I toyed with hers.”

“I am sorry.”

“Do not be. It was a long time ago. She is with the Force now, as I will be soon.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have been having visions of my death. When I turn on the holo news I see my daughter, her eyes cast down. Mary has always been headstrong as her mother, even when people pushed her through the mud, she always rose, more valiant than before. It pains me to see that defiance gone from her eyes.”

“You can’t go risking your life for her.” Leia said. Her tone told him that she wasn’t giving him an advice but an order.

“She is my daughter, I neglected her long enough. When she was born, I told myself she must be Henry’s. As she grew up, I realized she wasn’t and I turned away from her every time I visited Earth. After she grew closer to Anakin, I further blinded myself until Vader’s ascension made me realize, too late, what my actions had caused.”

Leia said nothing.

“Luke and Kyra and the rest must know the truth. This time without interruptions, without anger, no matter what the consequences. We’ve kept a lot from them already.”

Leia nodded, knowing it was going to be hard. Marion had trouble coping with the fact that she and Leia had been tortured by their father. Marion told her she’d never see the Lady Mary as her mother.

 _“She didn’t raise me.”_ She’d told Leia. _“Margaery Tyrell, Olenna, Cersei, raised me. They are my mother, my grandmothers.”_ She added and Leia thought the same.

It was hard for Leia to justify what the Naberries did but she had learned that politics was a dangerous game, and everyone had their reasons and justifications. _The galaxy already has too much Skywalkers, perhaps they did good getting rid of the Lady Mary’s first offspring._

* * *

Vader had enough. “You cannot go there.” One of the Admirals told him as he approached Mary’s chambers. Vader began choking him and dared him to say another word. The Admiral let him through.

“I said I am not hungry.” Mary said expecting to see that meddlesome Jerjerrod but instead she saw Anakin.

“Ani? What are you doing here?”

“I came here to rescue you, Your Highness.” He said, showing her the same smile when they were young and she was in danger of being captured by Separatists.

“If Arthur or the Emperor finds out-“

“I don’t care about the Emperor anymore. You were right, I have been a slave for far too long. And your so called husband or lover, or whatever you wish to call him, can cross my path any time he wants. We will see who expires first.” He said and kissed her. Mary smiled, she was happy to see the old Jedi Knight back.

“Get dressed, we are getting out of here. I made the admiral unconscious but it won’t be for long.”

Mary chose one of her less flashy dresses and packed another ones that they could use to buy credits for a new ship.

“I am glad to have you back. What prompted this unexpected change in His Murderous Lordship?” Mary asked, having fun playing with Vader like they did when they worked with the Empire.

“You and Padme.” Mary knit her eyebrows. “I saw what the Naberries did to you Mary. I am sorry I didn’t believe you and threw you under the buss. But I had a visit from Padme.”

“Her.”

“Hear me out, she said she was sorry but she claims she did not know and I believe her.”

“She visited me too.” Anakin was surprised to hear that. “She said the same thing. It’s funny, I always thought that if one person was going to live this long next to you, was her.” Mary smirked. “Neither of us got our wish. Maybe it is a sign we are not mean to be together.”

“Or maybe it is a sign that nothing is set in stone. Listen to me Mary, I made the biggest mistake of my life when I threw you to the wolves. I mocked you, scorned you and delighted myself in watching to turn like me because then I could tell myself that you were no better. I am done with all of that.” He told her, helping her carry her suitcase after her knees wobbled. He sensed something strange in her, but he had no time to make sense of it as he knew it wouldn’t be long before somebody sensed something was amiss.  
“Fuck fate, fuck Jedi, fuck Sith. It is just us. You and me.”

The two took one of the transporter ships and sent a special code that would allow them to pass the frontier. Once they were set, Anakin jumped into hyperspace.

Anakin sighed. They had made it. But not for long. The Emperor probably senses I am too far. He will know and so will Arthur and Thrawn, if they don’t already. In the co-pilot seat was Mary. She had been exhausted, something was terribly wrong but he didn’t want to comment on it until they were out of Imperial sight. Removing a strand of hair from her face he saw there were some bruises on her neck and cheek covered by make-up. He went to for a clean towel, dipped it in hot water and carefully washed her face.

 _She is still beautiful._ Although she was older, she had not lost most of her looks. He thought about the necklace he had given to Padme. _I should make one for her as well._ But it wouldn’t do. He had learned how quickly giving into your feelings got you killed. And now that he and Mary were traitors, they had to be careful.

 _She will hate me for this, but I rather she be a little angry than live the rest of her days in fear._ It was a high price to pay for freedom but it was one he was willing to pay. For her. He could bare his former master’s face, even the former queens, especially Catherine and Anne who never liked him, if it guaranteed Mary’s safety.

_I will help the rebels win their war. I will feed them as many lies as they want and tell them they are great when they aren’t, and make them believe that they can go against the Emperor and when the war is over, I will take what is left of either side, and go somewhere where no one can find us._

No Jedi, no Sith. Just them, like he promised her.


	26. No One but Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our heroes face the greatest trial as they meet face to face with the people who took everything from them while the latter weigh on their options.

_"I tried to make it through my life,  
in my way, there's you_  
_I tried to make it through these_  
_lies, and that's all I do_  
_Just don't deny it_  
_Don't try to fight this,_  
_and deal with it_  
_And that's just part of it_

 _If you were dead or still alive_  
_I don't care, I don;t care_  
_Just go and leave this all behind_  
_Because I swear (I swear) I don't care_

 _I try to make you see my side_  
_Always trying to stay in line_  
_But your eyes see right through_  
_That's all they do_  
_I'm  getting buried in this place_  
_I've got no room, you're in my face_  
_Don't say anything just go away_

 _If you were dead or still alive_  
_I don't care, I don;t care_  
_Just go and leave this all behind_  
_Because I swear (I swear) I don't care_

 _I'm taking everything, you_  
_won't be there for me_

 _I'm not changing everything because_  
_you won't be there for me_

 _If you were dead or still alive_  
_I don't care, I don;t care_  
_Just go and leave this all behind_  
Because I swear (I swear) I don't care."  
**~I don't care by Apocalyptica**

In truth, she was a pathetic creature. Making people feel sorry for her was all she got and whenever she used that annoying childish voice, she got people to listen to her and do whatever she wanted. Arthur was the only one that had the balls to tell her enough was enough. _Well_ , she thought. _There is Vader._ But Vader was different. He would never hit her but he wasn’t afraid to tell her the truth.

 _In truth, I’ve been the tool of men._ She hated her mother because she was the living reminder that everything Mary had fought for had been for naught and her life as a Princess had been a lie. Moreover, she hated her because she chose that Jedi, over her own daughter.

_My mother only wanted power. And so did I._

How ironic, she thought. A smile crept on her lips. The two women who thought of themselves as the most gracious were the most dastardly of them all.

There was an old saying that her real father always used to say _“People don’t change.”_ And he was right. People don’t change. They just evolve or learn to suppress their urges.

Mary had learned not to act the fool but deep down she still thought like a spoiled, pathetic creature who used phrases like _“I am a poor little dog who nobody wants”_ and used pity to get her son to bend to her will.

It didn’t work with Vader. When he decided to help her, it wasn’t because he felt sorry for her or thought she deserved saving. He did it because he wanted the two of them to be happy. He was selfish and he was not afraid to admit it. _Unlike me._

She rubbed her eyelids. Vader _-No_ -she told herself. - _Anakin_ \- asked her if she needed something. A blanket or a fresh cup of Arabic coffee he had smuggled from his office.

“Aren’t you the street rat?” She asked with dark humor. He grinned.

“I learned from the best and by the best I mean your father.” He said, adding that cocky grin that she knew from his days fighting for the old republic alongside the clone troopers.

Those were the days. She was overtaken by nostalgia. Anakin had been so dashing, rescuing her from the angry dragon that had her locked up in the castle. Henry VIII considered her a bastard, even after she had signed the oath and promised eternal loyalty. Anakin told her about the legends he heard from the Night’s Watch in the North of Westeros, where it was whispered that the only thing that could defeat a fire dragon was the icy breath of an ice dragon. _“I will be your ice dragon.”_ He swore, then they went trekking across the globe.

 _When are you going to tell him?_ She wanted to but she was afraid of his reaction. She didn’t know what to think herself. A part of her didn’t want to admit that she was pregnant, but another didn’t care. Her life was one tragedy after another. But another one told her that this could be her chance to escape, to rebel against Arthur and take her children with her.

It was a stupid of her to think she could do this. Just the thought of getting her offspring back and going to some far-away place where no one would find them, was stupid.

Owen was sixteen. In the eyes of the law, he was a man and old enough to be a corporal. Mary was always afraid of him seeing combat, but not his father. Arthur wanted him to be a warrior like his namesake.  
Jane Kyra was older. From what Anakin had told her, she was fragile and pure. But there was a spark of rebellion in her which led her to Princess Leia and the rest. _She would not want anything to do with me._ She probably thought of Mary as a monster. And then there was her other twin. _Wherever she may be …_ Mary wished that she knew where she was so she could look her in the eyes and tell her the truth and take her with her, but given her reputation, her reaction would be the same as her sister.

“My father was daring but not that daring.”

“You clearly didn’t know him then. He surrendered to one of the Separatists after I got my apprentice and when Ashoka and I came to _rescue_ him, he was already making his smug speech about how he always won.”   
  
Mary tried to picture it. She had heard all kinds of stories about her father but like most, they verged on exaggeration. Hearing it from Anakin, it made her realize how alike she and her father were.  
Anakin laughed as he continued his tale. “Ashoka and I couldn’t help but roll our eyes when he related to the council how no one could stand against his intellect. Before the Empire, he was known as the great negotiator. People thought it was because his wit made people surrender and agree to his peace terms but it was more thanks to his sarcasm.”

“I find it hard to believe, when I was on Tatooine he was always so serious except when he was around my mother and even then, he was not that … interesting.”

“You should have seen him battling the Ventress. There is a recording I never gave to my master that kept me sane when I wasn’t hating on your father. It is a shame I destroyed it but you would have love it.”

“It shows my father’s sarcasm?”

“Better. You can actually see him blushing and I do mean blushing when Ventress tells him if he were not a Jedi, she would consider sleeping with him.”

“You are kidding.” Mary said, unable to believe such thing.

“I am not joking, it is the truth. Obi Wan tells her ‘that is so good of you but don’t be so inconsiderate, I am a master of everything.’ I could not help laughing every time I saw it just like you are now.”

Mary was laughing. She could not believe she had missed so much on the man she had sworn revenge on. She asked Anakin to tell her more. Before they reached Yavin IV, the two had already shared a lifetime of stories about their past, her father, his mother and their years training separately as dark agents of the Empire.

When they landed on the rebel base, they made contact with the Princess. Anakin reached Obi Wan through his mind and told him they needed to speak. It took his master a long time before he reached the conclusion that he and Mary were not hostile.

Anakin and Mary looked at each other. “Aren’t you nervous they are going to shoot you?” Mary asked him.

“No.” He said. He was more nervous what they were going to do to her. “They can try but they will find themselves in the ground before they reach for their weapons.”

Mary smiled a small smile. When the two met with the rebel leaders, Mary couldn’t help but run into her mother’s arms who was all too willing to receive her.

Anakin and Obi Wan eyed each other with hostility, besides their fight at Mustafar which nearly ended with their deaths, there was much more that the two had done with each other, to simply brush aside.

After they were done with the pleasentries and re-introductions, Princess Leia told them that they were here as guests and once they had outrun their usefulness, they would decide what was the best way to punish them for their crimes.

“That wasn’t what you told me when you agreed on my terms, Princess.” Anakin said.

“I am altering the deal, pray I don’t alter it any further Lord Vader.” Princess Leia said, using the same words that her father had used against her and her friends when he sold Han to Bobba Fett.

“You are using my words against me. Brilliant Princess, it is not the attitude I would expect from an honorable royal such as yourself who claims to stand for truth and justice.”

“I am merely using the same tactics you are using Lord Vader and thank you for teaching me so much about the galaxy. Now I am less afraid to deal with my enemies.” She turned to Marion who smiled back. Her friend couldn’t wait to tell these two wretched villains the truth about who they tortured and forced to beg for their lives. “Lady Marion will take you and the Lady Mary to your quarters. Marion.”

“With pleasure, Your Highness.” Marion said signaling to Catherine to let go of her daughter. “My lord, my lady, if you will follow me please.”

Although her voice was sweet, her eyes were filled with scorn. Mary was reminded of Anne Boleyn after she told her that she would not accept charity from her father’s wife for her father was married but if his mistress interceded on her behalf, she would be grateful. Anne’s attitude towards Mary worsened after that, sending her to do the most menial of tasks and writing to her aunts, giving them instructions on how to punish her. One time, Lady Shelton told her that her niece had told her that if she didn’t listen, she had her permission to box her ears or whip her.

Now this girl is doing the same. When Marion showed them to their shared bedroom, she couldn’t help but snort when Anakin clasped her hand.

“Is something funny, my lady?” Anakin asked, his tone cold as when he interrogated her.

“Not really my lord … or I should say father.” Their eyes widened. “Didn’t the Emperor tell you? Or was he still mad at you because you foiled his plans to capture my half-brother and twin sister on Cloud City?”

“You?” Mary asked.

“Yes … mother. Me. The same one you begged your Sith lover to kill and Leia too. Why do you think the Naberries supported the Rebellion after Luke and Kyra rescued us? I will grant you, it is not easy finding out that your father is the most hated man in the galaxy but at least Luke and Leia had an honorable mother, me on the other hand, to find out that I have for a mother, you. That was devastating but also rewarding because it made me realize how fortunate I was (given the circumstances) to have three women like Margaery, Olenna, and Cersei raise me.”

“But … how?” Mary could barely make out the other questions she had on her mind. When her parents said that the other twin had been safely hidden, she thought of another outer rim planet, not something so obvious as Alderaan. And then her sister … “Leia, she is Luke’s twin.”

“Bravo, lady mother. Bravo.” Marion mock clapped. “It was relief for Luke and Kyra as it was for us. We always felt close, but funny thing is that despite who are our twins, we each feel closer to our respective half-sibling. Leia and I grew up together as sisters. I was treated as a royal. Nobody saw me as less, and Leia was always there for me when my mother and grandmothers were too busy working for the rebellion or attending meetings with the Queen and Senator-Prince. Blood didn’t have to do with our bonding as much as nurture did.”

“It did.” Anakin said, speaking at last. Daughter or no daughter, he was not going to let her speak to Mary this way. He walked to Marion and told her, “You two are Force-sensitive,  it made you see your connection early on even when you were fully aware of what that connection was.”

“Perhaps or perhaps it was mere coincidence. Either way, Leia and I learned the truth about how cold the galaxy is after watching you torture our friends and us.” Marion said, emphasizing on the **us.** “The day you blew up our planet will be a day we will never forget. Leia and I could feel as billions of voices cried out in sorrow. You stole the future from us.”

“What about what the Jedi stole from me? Has your grandfather told you how the Jedi treated me, how your grandmother, your real grandmother, chose her lover before she chose his daughter and even before that, refused to take any responsibility for her? What kind of irresponsible parent does that?”

“No more than a man, if I can call him such a thing, who tortures his defenseless daughters and smiles as they wither on the floor, looking pleadingly at him, begging him to stop.” Marion pointed out.

“I didn’t not know.”

“Surely you did, you said it yourself. The Force made me and Leia see things others couldn’t, it must have done the same for you.”

“Do not do this to me. Do not use your words against me as your half-sister.” Anakin said. “We are your parents!”

“You are monsters. If I had my way I would have driven my sword through your throat and then through her. The galaxy would have been better off if you had died along the other Jedis during the purges.”

“How can you speak so cruelly?” Mary asked, beginning to cry.

Marion’s response was in the form of a smile. A sweeter smile which was followed by pure poison. “You really want to know why? It is because I don’t like Imperials acting as moral authorities while they are no better than the rest of us grunts. You mocked me, called me an embarrassment. Laughed when I was down, now it is my turn and let me say, it feels good, very, very good.” She said, savoring each moment as her dearest mother cried with every word she said.

“I must go, I would love to get acquainted but I have a lot to do. As you can tell, this is a rebellion and there are matters I must tend to with my dear sis.”

“What would Luke and Kyra say if they knew about what you are doing?” Anakin asked before she was out the door.

“Would they approve of this?”

“Luke and Kyra have their reasons for distrusting you, and in spite of your best efforts to corrupt my twin, she remains as gracious as always. I admire her, I truly do. She is a person I aspire to be but I sadly can’t. As for Luke, you nearly drove him insane. He has been close to the darkness as you are, but thankfully he had the common sense to make him realize what a poor decision that would have been.” Marion informed him.

Anakin mentally smiled. _Luke._ He had felt his son’s hatred whenever he tried to reach him. It was as strong as his had once been for Obi Wan’s. He expected he would have a hard time convincing him by showing him snippets of his life and how miserable he had been afterwards, but thankfully he didn’t have to anymore. _She saved him._ He realized. _His sister. My daughter. She is truly special._

His moment of happiness was interrupted by Marion who reminded him of what he had done to them as well, and how hard it would be for him and Mary to make amends. “Unlike me and Leia, you knew who Luke and Kyra were and you did nothing to help them. But keep telling yourselves what great people you were, how hard it was for you. Whatever helps you sleep at night.” She said and with a last sweet smile, she left the two alone.

~o~

Catherine did not know how to react when she saw her daughter. Obi Wan told her they had to be cautious but when Mary ran up to her, she forgot all about caution and embraced her daughter.

She didn’t care what the rest of the base said to her afterwards. Mary was her daughter and she was finally back. As for Vader or Anakin, or whatever that boy called himself now, she didn’t know what to think. She was glad he saved her daughter, but the way he eyed Obi Wan, was the same look he’d given to him when they fought on the death star.

He still hates him. And despite Obi Wan’s best efforts to protect his offspring, Anakin Skywalker still saw him as the enemy.

Anne Boleyn shared Catherine’s opinion when the two were alone. Anne had never liked that boy. She had seen right through him when she first met him. Arrogant, thinking he could take on everything, he didn’t care for the rules. When Anne told her husband about Anakin and Mary’s escapade, Henry just brushed it off as unimportant. “She will change, Anne. He is just a fancy.” But he wasn’t. Why couldn’t Henry see that? She didn’t like Mary’s attitude but she didn’t want to see the girl making a fool of herself and then crying, blaming everyone for not warning her. Unfortunately, that only got her on Skywalker’s bad side. After she awoke in a cloned body, he was the first person he saw. She would never forget what he forced her and Catherine to watch. He had taken away their faith in god, everything they knew and lastly, their trust in humanity.  
True, the galaxy hated terrestrial queens. She and Catherine could deal with that, but not with losing their faith in the one thing that helped them through tough times.

Obi Wan for his part could not bring himself to admit that a part of him hated Anakin. It was bad, it was evil but in the end, Anakin’s former mentor and friend was only human and he couldn’t help it when Anakin had broken every vow, corrupted two women (one of which was his daughter) and helped Sidious destroy the old republic. But out of all of that, the thing that hurt the most was that Anakin’s presence reminded Obi Wan of what a failure he was.  
“I failed you Anakin. I failed you.” He had confessed to Sidious’ new apprentice, Anakin turned Vader, that fateful day on their duel on Mustafar and Anakin’s answer was that the Jedi were evil. Obi Wan tried to make him see reason but after he had slaughtered the Jedi, including the younglings, it was impossible. “You are lost.” So they continued dueling until Obi Wan sensed Sidious’ approach and before he could know of Padme and her children, he ran away, leaving Anakin unconscious.  
Deep down, he is still Anakin. His younger self told him. It was hard to reconcile the man he was then with the man he was now. I must try, for all our sakes. If Anakin provided good information then a deal could be reached and perhaps … just perhaps … Obi Wan could convince the others to let him and Mary go.  
_Too much blood has been shed._ He didn’t want the first days of the new government to start with blood. That is not what the new republic is supposed to be.

~o~

“I can’t believe you did that.” Kyra said when Marion came to her room to inform her of their parents’ arrival as well as of their confinement.

“Did what?”

“That.” Kyra said, referring to their mother’s current state. “She is our mother.”

“You weren’t this enthusiastic when they revealed their true selves to you.” Marion pointed out. “She has done a lot of terrible things. In any case, it is not up to me or our half-sister Leia. Leia, you remember her? Our unofficial leader of our fledgling rebellion. She and I have never talked to you and Luke about this, but we were both tortured. Leia’s was more physical, mine was purely psychological thought here was some physicality involved, but it was terrible nonetheless. I would look up at Vader, begging him to stop talking and he just went on about how useless I was. I could handle many things. When I was nine, my grandmother Cersei told me about her childhood, how she and her brother would play dress up until one day their father said that was enough. They didn’t understand why they were treated differently. She was a woman but more capable than her brother, but her brother was their father’s heir so there you go. My grandmother hated being called ‘woman’ because it reminded her of how useless she was in a world built by men for men. She told me this story so I would never feel useless. She cradled my face in her aging hands and told me ‘Never let anyone treat you differently’. In less than thirty seconds, Vader shattered any self-confidence years of upbringing three great women instilled in me. That is the man who is our father. A man who cut Luke down and burned your back when you refused to join him.”

“It’s not his fault. The way the Jedi treated him, anyone would have turned to the dark side.”

“But Vader is not anyone. He is -or at least was- the chosen one. He was supposed to obey the Jedi. If he didn’t like the way things were done, why didn’t he walk out like others before him did. Count Dooku did, granted he chose a wrong path but at least he didn’t make any excuses for his life-choices.”

“You are cold … sister.” Kyra said, still unused to calling Marion her sister. “Regardless of what Vader and the Lady Mary did, we are not the Empire. We do not kill our enemies without a trial.”

“Funny, you and Luke didn’t act this compassionate towards your enemies when Leia, me and the rest revealed what was on the disk.”

Marion added, “You and Luke weren’t so happy when you found out about your true twin siblings. I didn’t mind. You and Luke grew up together, just as me and Leia. It doesn’t matter who our parents are, family is where the heart is and my heart was on Alderaan like Leia’s.”

“That is why we must show them we are better. It is how we win the war, not by cruelty or resorting to their tactics, but by letting the people that there are other forms of justice than the old an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. I heard you and the others talk about what the new republic will mean. How it will be something different from the old, but separate from the Empire. This is our chance. Let’s make history today by showing the galaxy we don’t treat our enemies the same way they treat us.”

“You almost sounded like a politician there. Leia and I grew up among politicians. Politics is our life and will be long after this war has ended. People join the fight because they imagine they will be heroes, many die on their first day, those that remain either become disenchanted and go back to their homes where the Empire finds them and tortures them before killing them, and the rest remain, believing that they can still be heroes and that this fight is greater than them. It is this half that want to see the likes of Vader and the lady Mary punished. We’ve all lost someone dear to us, some of us more than others and while we can spend as much time talking about how those two got to the way they were, the fact remains that they are here and they are with us and after this war, they will be punished.”

“So you are letting them stay, unharmed?”

“For now. But I am not making any promises. The rest of the base won’t be too happy when they show their faces on the mess hall.” Marion said leaving her twin sister’s room.

~o~

Carina gave Luke a small smile as he sat with her. The rest of his teammates were no longer glaring at her. Everyone minded their own business and focused on their plates of food.

“It feels good to be another one of many again.” Carina told him. Sometimes she would turn behind her, just to make sure no one was eying her or was ready to shoot at her. Luke would reassure her by giving his goofy smile and telling her she was safe. “I was nervous after you told me about Leia and Marion, and then Vader and the lady Mary, that they were going to start a riot ‘let’s shoot all Imperials.’ Good heavens I am lucky again.”

“Luck doesn’t have anything to do with that.” Luke told her, giving her a small smile again.

“Oh for heaven’s sake, don’t start with your Jedi philosophy again. I have enough of it with Lady Mary’s son who doesn’t shut up about it, and that Jedi Master. Now you too.”

“It’s not Jedi philosophy, it simple common sense. The base have new people to hate so they don’t have to worry about you.”

“That’s reassuring.” Carina said sarcastically.

“Don’t take it personally. But things have been getting worse, the Empire’s attacks have become more sophisticated and with Thrawn studying our every move, there is no telling what will come next.”

“Do not forget Grand Moff Targaryen and Lord Tudor. I never met the latter, but I know enough about the Tudors from personal experience, to know that he will be more merciless now that the lady Mary is with us.”

“Yeah. Tough situation we got ourselves in.” Luke said, drinking from his water cup. “I am worried about everyone. My sister and I tried to talk some sense into them but they have shunned us.”

“It’s not just you. Lady Elizabeth tried to warn her mother about one of the new Admirals and her mother just waved her hand like she didn’t matter.” Carina said. “Mary Stuart cannot even step into the strategy sessions without being reminded that deposed queens have no place there. It is a real shit storm we are all in.”

Then she added as something she remembered from her life serving the royals came to her, “Even if the Rebels win, they will never be free from the stain of the past. At some point, someone, somewhere, will dig up their nasty little secrets and expose them to the world and everyone will be back to where we started.””

“Maybe we are not supposed to win.” Luke said thoughtfully, thinking back to the times he and Kyra had defeated the Empire, destroyed the Death star and were the people’s hope.

“What?”

“Maybe you are right. The more we do, the more they do. It is a never ending cycle of violence. There will always be wars to fight, battles to win, enemies to bring down.”

“And you and your sister will be there fighting them.” Carina said. “Don’t you see, Luke? That is the point. Nothing ever ends, everything is a cycle. There is not supposed to be any point in life, we just exist. What we do with our lives is all that matters. The elders as well as the Emperor have decided to look at life through the eyes of ‘everything has a purpose’ and for a long time, so did I because I did not know any other way of life. I told myself that I was better than those that came before me because they had tricked me and others into obeying them using god, but I became like them. The Jedi Order you and Kyra bring can be something new, or it can be something like it was in the beginning. It is your choice. Do not invest too much time thinking of what could be, or what might be. Focus on the here and now, and on the people you love. That is all that matters.”

Carina’s words were a strong impact on Luke who was still uncertain about many things, including his place in the galaxy. The way Carina said it, how nothing had any purpose, how it was people that made life tolerable in spite of all its obstacles, made sense.

“You are right.” Luke said, allowing himself to smile. Not a goofy smile, or a sad smile, but a genuine smile like the ones he’d usually give to his loved ones back on Tatooine and his first years in the rebellion before Vader revealed he was his father.

* * *

 

Inside their chamber, Mary and Anakin weighed their options. They'd had enough of their daughter's self righteousness, not to mention Leia's hostility, which was only made worse when the former queens decided to step in and remind Vader of how much they hated him.

They couldn't go back. The Emperor would have their heads. Probably Mary's given the situation. And he'd forced Anakin to watch.

The best they could do was wait. Let these imperious youths and their elders believe they were in the right. Once they won, they would be off.

For Mary, it wasn't that easy. Anakin told her it would be easy. They'd star anew with new identities, far from where anyone could identify them. 

"It's not that easy." Mary told Vader. No -she reminded herself- Anakin. "Everyone would know where we'd go. They remember how Anakin Skywalker took risks and they'd used that to track you down, knowing that we fled to the most desolate planet in the outer rim where we hoped no one would find us. We are never going to be in peace. It is better we wait it out."

"They are going to kill us."

"Maybe we deserve it."

"You can't be serious." Anakin said, unable to fathom that Mary, the great Mary Tudor was actually considering giving up on her dreams. "It won't be just us, your son as well. And his girlfriend and her brother. They have no love for the Starks and Targaryens either after what their parents have done."

"They are still young, Owen has been in the rebellion for over a year and if he can convince Lya and Bess can convince Ned then there is hope. We on the other hand, they will never forgive."

"Which is why we must go. If we stay, we will force our offspring to watch their friends kill their parents and we both know what ends up happening after that." Mary didn't need to be told twice. It was what drove her and Anakin to the dark side in the first place, "But" she argued, "It is different now. Our children believe in the Rebellion's ideals, they know that we deserve it."

"Mary, don't do this. Yes, we've done terrible things and I am not proud of most of what I've done but to pretend that they are holier than us because they happened to be on the other side is not going to change things. What about Jon, Sansa, or everyone who has betrayed their families? What will happen to them?" Before Mary could give an answer, he provided one for her, "They will go on just about fine. When I was fighting for the old republic, I saw how the politician did deals behind the public's back with our enemies. That is what they will do when this is over. Sansa and Jon are too valuable so they will let them live and pretend none of this ever happened but you and me? We will be dragged through the mud."

"Good." Mary said, unable to hold back tears as she imagined the public humiliation she would have to endure to atone for her sins. "Maybe then, our children can forgive us."

"We don't need their acceptance. Fuck them!" Mary looked at him with wide eyes in shock. "I am tired of playing servant. You were right, I was a slave. I am not going to let them tell me what to do anymore. If they want to accept us, they will accept us, if not they can go find someone else who cares."

 _Tell him._ "It is not that easy."

"It never is."

_Tell him!_

"When your parents come through that door, or another elder shows his or her face I will tell them what I think of them and if they make any threat, I will cut them down like I cut all the Jedi down."

She couldn't resist anymore. He is going to do something stupid and it is going to be my fault. Anakin had given up so much for her. It didn't seem fair that he died because of her sins. I don't deserve him. Finally, she spoke. "Anakin, I am pregnant!"

Anakin blinked, stopped right in his tracks, turned to her again. His mind had barely processed what she said, he had to hear it from her one more time to make sure he wasn't having a bad dream.  "Say that again."

"I am pregnant."

There it was. He felt the floor beneath him tremble. His dreams, crushed. What was left of his humanity, in shambles, and the woman he loved, at the mercy of that bastard once more, through his unborn offspring.

"I am sorry. I wanted to tell you but I didn't know how I could ..."

"And you knew this when they threatened to kill you?" It wasn't an answer he was oblivious to, but he needed her confirmation. She nodded and said a small audible "Yes."  
He sat next to her on the bed where she was resting and placed his hand on her flat stomach. He had sensed something was wrong since they were on the ship. Placing a hand on her flat stomach, he could sense the life growing within her.   
At the moment they were just cells, but they were strong with the force like her mother.

A part of him wanted to go back and pretend he was still loyal to the Emperor just so he could kill Arthur Tudor, but another one told him he needed to be cautious. He couldn't take on the Emperor and Arthur. His friend would be there and knowing Jon, he would do his duty as he always did, and arrest him rather than risk everything for him.  
_He is still the same old Jon. Did he know about this?_ He had to. Jon had been collaborating with Lord Tudor, taking the rebels down in their assigned sectors. _Why wouldn't he know?_ The hatred he felt for Arthur turned into bitter disappointment for his best friend. He understood why Jon was adamant to keep it a secret, knowing how Anakin would react. But it didn't make it any better.

A thought crossed his mind. "Are you sure it is his?" He and Mary had lain two months ago when Arthur wasn't there and had left some incompetent officer in charge whom he was able to manipulate his mind so he forgot about his visit. It was possible that Mary was so distraught that she wasn't sure whom the baby belonged to.

But Mary was. After he withdrew his hand from her stomach, she gripped it and told him it was Arthur's.

"They are going to kill you once they know."

"They won't. They need us as we much as we need them. When this war is over my babe would have already been born and I know he will be happy being raised by his older brother or one of his sisters."

"You are willing to abandon your child to them?"

"It is only fair. A parent makes sacrifices." Mary said, wiping on tear from her eye. 

"A parent also gives his or her life so their child can be safe. They will never know of your sacrifice. Your child will grow up knowing about the lady Mary, the monster, the inquisitor, the bastard, While the rest of the galaxy will celebrate our deaths and dance on our graves."

"It is what it is."

"It is not. You said we've done some terrible things and I don't deny we have but here is the difference between us and them Mary. I don't pretend to be a good guy, I know what I am and I don't make any promises of making things better for anyone because that is not how life is. I shut away the voice of my conscience because it proved useless. There is evil in this galaxy and then there is the lie of being good. There are those that accept the truth and are blasted for it and those that don't and are rewarded for it. The Jedi worked in collaboration with slavers when they provided them with information about the Separatists. I killed those slavers after I became Darth Vader because it felt good. I tortured former royals who treated their servants like they were nothing, because it also felt good. And every time I heard one hypocrite say how evil I was, I Force-choke them and let them know I enjoyed it."

Anakin let go of her hand and rose.

"You want to know the cold, hard truth Mary?" Anakin asked her. "Life is cruel, nobody cried for me when my mother died. I refused to cry because she died in my arms believing that I had become a master. Everything that I was meant to be, I failed at, and every time someone wanted show me kindness, they'd turn their backs on me and tell me 'be strong Anakin. You are the chosen one, the one who will bring balance to the Force. Qui Gon died so you'd be trained. Prove to us he was right and we were wrong.' I never received one smile, one touch of kindness unless I smiled and acted the grateful one."

"I am sorry." Mary said.

"You don't have to be sorry. I should have been there for you. I wasn't. I don't want to be their chosen one, I don't care about the Force, the Jedi, the Sith. I care about you and my children."

"It's too late for that Anakin."

"No, it's not. Let's go, just be you, me and the baby. Fuck the rest."

"What about Luke? Kyra? My father? My mother? And the rest of your family. They look up to you. You're the only one that can defeat Palpatine."

He kissed her. "None of that matters, I tried to be a Jedi, I failed. For once, I just want to be Anakin."

How easy it would be if she just said 'yes'. But then she thought about their children. They were their responsibility, what would they say if their parents left?

But then, hadn't they suffered enough? Hadn't they done enough for their parents? Anakin was right. Nobody had been there for him when he lost his mother. Nobody had been there for her when her father treated her no better than his dogs, and discovered her true parentage.

She relented. "If we do this, you must be sure." He said and she smiled, begging God for the first time to help her take out those fears and doubts, including her fathers' voices, off her head. She didn't want to leave with them still on her mind.

 _The last thing I want is to have their voices in my head._ She thought then begged the Lord 'Take them out of my head. Don't let me see them.'

She just wanted it to be her and Anakin, just like it was always meant to be. Just him and her without a care in the world for the rest.


	27. Bad Blood

_“See me, hear me but don’t touch me_  
You should fear me tonight  
because ideally I am seriously disturbed  
that is my world  
straight to my mother  
weigh in my brother from another   
Because I ain’t the one who shade in your sun  
and took all your shine  
watch me get mine  
feel my love burn  
wait for my sins  
watch the world turn  
cycle begins  
Monster and ogres  
Angels and demon  
Dancing on top of the world  
T know where I am going   
But know where I’ve been  
Can’t hear a sound  
I came to get down, I came to get dirty  
I came to get even…”  
**~So Long by Everlast**

Arthur was seething. _First she lets our son take part in a dangerous mission, now this!_ He hated the way Lady Sansa spoke about his son. If he wasn’t the gentleman that he was, he would slap her across the face. His son was ten times better than the men she suggested for her daughter.  
_Unlike her, I descend from royalty_. Lady Sansa descended from a line of Kings but they were long dead. The Tudor Dynasty was the only terrestrial royal dynasty, among a few, that was still around.

“I trust you have a lead on her whereabouts.” It wasn’t a question. He shook his head at the Emperor. Arthur was thankful that it was just a hologram, otherwise he would have felt His Imperial Highness’ full wrath. “I have been very patient with you Lord Tudor, do not fail me. Bring her back or it will be your son’s head on Lady Sansa’s platter.” The Emperor said lastly before addressing Grand Admiral Thrawn who was standing next to Arthur. “Is there any news on your treacherous spy?”

“None, Your Highness, but her presence has quite the effect on Skywalker.”

“Oh.” The Emperor’s eyes shone interest. “In what way, Grand Admiral?”

“The girl has formed an attachment with Luke Skywalker and given that the boy has a strong sense of duty over her and his loved ones, we can use her against him.”

“Vader talked about using his connection with his son and daughter. But since the latter has proved incorruptible, Luke is the only weapon we can use. I am in need of a new hand and an apprentice. Make it so that the boy watches everything he loves taken from him.”

“I will make it happen. Before the construction of the second death star is over, he will be delivered into your hands and become the architect of his friends’ destruction.”

“Good, good. I will give you full command over this operation, Grand Admiral.”

The Emperor’s transmission ended. Arthur sat down in his seat behind his desk. Thrawn was still up, waiting to be dismissed.

“He trusts you.” Arthur told him before he gave him the sign of dismissal.

“He trusts my expertise in human nature. I am not an expert of it, but I have had enough experience with yours and other species, to know what makes someone tick.”

“You are going to turn Luke into a bomb. I admire you Thrawn, I really do. You are smarter than people give you credit for, you see something and you are not afraid to take it but tell me, why is it that you continue to serve the Emperor when to him, you are nothing more than a lower form of life?”

Thrawn grinned. “May I?” He asked signaling to the chair in front of him.

“Of course.”

Thrawn sat down. “When I was a boy, I had very little compared to the others in my species, but I always knew what my potential was. The first human I met that treated me with dignity was lord Tyrion Lannister. This was before the Dragon Queen’s demise. He saw me, through my make-up and laughed and asked me ‘why are you trying to hide who you are? Don’t you know that to everyone you will always be an alien, a foreigner, a nobody?’ I was so mad that I was ready to push him overboard when he told me ‘Never forget what you are, the rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor. It can never be used against you.’” Thrawn grabbed one of the wine bottles and slowly poured some in one of the empty goblets.

“Corellian wine. Good vintagae.” He commented, savoring each drop. “The Emperor is an old man from a bygone era. He knows no better except what he’s been taught. His views are narrow and he is not as powerful as he claims to be.”

“And yet you serve him.”

“And yet I do.” Thrawn agreed. “But, it is not the man I serve but what he represents. Order instead of chaos, fairness instead of dreams of justice, and lastly power and not false promises of equality.”

He put his cup down and looked at Arthur directly. “When I met your brother I was a very young man. My species ages slower than yours so I don’t look a day older than I did ten years ago. But twenty seven years ago when I visited the King of England I was a mere boy. You brother snorted at the sight of me and asked ‘what is this devil?’ while the rest of his courtiers laughed. Some of his preachers, Protestant and Catholic alike, took me for a devil and threatened to burn me, one of his mistresses begged them to spare me and instead teach me the word of Christ.”

Arthur smirked. _That sounds like Harry._ His brother always had a penchant for letting others control him. _If only I could have been King._ Alas, that was not to be thanks to his whore of a mother and grandmother who had used Melusina to kill him because he took after his father in looks. _The joke will be on them once I get Mary and I will summon them from whatever death dimension they are in, and see as their reincarnated ancestor suffers at my hand._  
Arthur had many things planned for Mary once she returned. He was not going to let her live happily ever after, especially since she was carrying his next offspring.

“Of course that never happened thanks to one Anakin Skywalker and General and Jedi Master, Obi Wan Kenobi who were there to save the day.” At the mention of Obi Wan, Arthur’s smirk turned into a frown. “The General wasn’t called the great negotiator for anything. He convinced the king and his preachers to let me go and taught them about my species. The hero without fear meanwhile eyed the lady Mary who eyed him back. Again, I was only a boy but I could see sparks flying between them. It comes to no surprise that your lover would run away with Vader. They will be found rest assured, the problem will be getting her back to you. Nothing is closer to God than a mother’s love, your species often say. And as a mother in waiting, she won’t make this easy for us.”

“I don’t care what happens to Vader, I want her with me and my son back, unharmed.”

“I never took you for a loving spouse and father. There will be consequences, her parents will come after you with everything they got. You will have to walk over the general’s corpse before you get to his daughter and her mother.”

Arthur grinned. It didn’t surprise him that Thrawn knew about his love for Catherine. “I intend to do just that.”

“Queen Catherine will never submit to you. She is not like her daughter. The girl you met on England is long gone. You better kill her before she takes over your mind.”

“I am not giving up on my goals Thrawn. You said it yourself, the Empire provides order and fairness. This is my fairness. Over fifty years ago, Catherine was taken from me because two witches decided to punish my father with their magic because they weren’t brave enough to confront him themselves. Now I am going to take back everything that was stolen from me and reclaim it as my own.”

“You are a bright man, lord Tudor. Brighter than your father, even but my advice to you is don’t get consumed by your passions. That was your brother’s mistake.” He said. Arthur gave him the sign of dismissal and Thrawn left.

Arthur didn’t think too much on the Grand Admiral’s words. Truth be told, he didn’t care what the Chiss thought. Catherine was his. They were meant to be. And nothing on this galaxy was going to stop him from reclaiming what was his by right.

* * *

Obi Wan awoke in cold seat. That dream again. Careful not to wake Catherine, he slowly got out of bed and dressed. The second mess hall was empty except for his daughter who sat alone with her hands on her stomach.

It took him just two seconds by her distress and the Force signature there to tell him that she was pregnant. _This complicates things._ Catherine had always said to him that Mary was dead the minute she was with Arthur but seeing her again, she couldn’t help but give in to her maternal instincts.

“May I sit?” Obi Wan asked. Mary nodded. “How far along are you?”

“Two months. Anakin thought it was his, I wanted to tell him it was but I couldn’t lie to him so I told him the truth and he told me we should go away after this was over.” She laughed quietly. “I don’t know why I am telling you this. Anakin doesn’t trust you and I didn’t want to come here in the first place.”

“Then why are you here, my lady? If you didn’t want to be here, why didn’t you just tell Anakin about your condition in the first place and go to outer rim or some of the un-explored planets outside of the galaxy, why come here?”

“I don’t know. I just … wanted to be away from Arthur.” Mary said looking down at her hands which were now joined together as if in prayer, on her lap.

Obi Wan sighed. Force help me. He was going to regret this but against his better judgment, he gave into his long suppressed paternal instincts and put his arm around and brought her closer to him.

“You are here now, there is nothing about that, that can be undone. We must focus on planning long-term. After all, this will be my fourth grandchild and it won’t be good if you bring him into this world with the two of us with our current faces.”

Mary laughed, shaking her head. Anakin was right, her father was able to be funny even in the darkest of times.

She told him about the footage Anakin had on him and the Ventress and many others.

“Oh Force no, he showed you that?”

“No, but he described them to me. I didn’t know you had that many admirers on your days as the great negotiator.” Mary said, suppressing another laugh as he looked away, blushing furiously.

“Please tell me he destroyed them or they got lost or something.”

“He destroyed them but he and I had a lot of fun talking about your days fighting for the old republic, including the time you showed off how great of a negotiator you were when you told Anakin ‘that was my whole intention’ and added how one Separatist joined the old republic just by your looks.”

“Alright, that is not how that went.”

“Really? Because if I recall correctly her name was Djana and she ran up to you and put her arms around your neck and said ‘my knight to the rescue once again’ which is funny because that is exactly what Duchess Satine also said.” A voice from behind said.

“Anakin.” Obi Wan acknowledged.

“Obi Wan.” Anakin said. “We should get back to our room Mary.”

“Why don’t we stay here for a while? Maybe share some of my father’s more interesting stories? It would be a good punishment don’t you think?”

“Punishment? Oh Anakin please don’t tell me you also told her about …”

“I did.” Anakin said with a cocky grin, sitting down across the two of them. “But in all seriousness, that was not as bad as when Ventress kissed him.”

“Ok, that didn’t happen.”

“No but admit it, there was a lot of sexual tension between the two of you and you did tell her she was good looking after she told you, you could be her catch if it wasn’t for your endless sermons.”

“Dear Force.” Obi Wan hid his face in his hands. This was worse than fighting with Anakin. Much worse. Anakin then told Mary about the time about the whole Cato Nemodia business where Anakin had to save him.

“That doesn’t count, it was nine times you saved me.” Obi Wan said.

“Ten. The one in Cato Nemodia does count.” Anakin told him. “Those were the times when we were called the hero without fear and the great negotiator. Of course, I wasn’t without fear and your father was anything but great, but people needed their heroes and the Jedi needed people to support them so what was one white lie after another, right _master_?”

“If you had only listened to what I had to say Anakin, you would have understood the Jedi order better.”

“Better? I understood the Jedi well enough. You made deals with slavers and corrupt politicians all the time. The people you swore to protect cried out for you and you never showed up. I was raised to be your hero, a title I never wanted, and every time I saved someone I was rewarded with scorn.”

“Because you never listened. You always pranced about how you were right about everything, how evil we were but you never gave us a good reason to trust you. We had enough evidence to convict that slaver but instead you decided to kill him. You never thought things through, that is why you are in this mess now.”

“It is not just me though, is it? It is also your daughter.”

“Do not bring Mary into this Anakin. You are responsible for your acts, alone. Nobody forced you to stay in the Jedi Order, nobody forced you to give up Mary, and certainly, nobody forced you to become a  Sith. You did all of that on your won.”

“With help from you.” Anakin said, his eyes flashing furiously as he looked at his former friend and mentor, a man he had also considered a brother, with disgust. “I told Master Yoda that I had dreams of Padme’s death. I didn’t say her name to protect her, but I asked him what should I do and he told me the same thing you told me, that dreams pass in time and that if she was going to die, I should rejoice for she would be in better place. The woman who was pregnant with my offspring was going to die and all that little green thing could tell me was ‘rejoice’. What else was I supposed to do?”

“You could have come to me and told me everything, Anakin.”

“You were away and I knew how you would react. The Jedi didn’t believe me when I warned them about Sidious and when they finally did, instead of arresting them, they went there to kill them. It was there when I made my choice, when I realized that the Jedi were no better than the chancellor.”

“So you decided to kill us all instead?”

“You weren’t born a slave Obi Wan, you have no idea what it is to watch your best friend’s heads explode or pregnant mothers fed to rancors because they defy their masters. The world I grew up in was unfair. Everyone had to make their own justice or else they were raped, starved or killed. My mother and I were lucky when we were sold to Watto. He was strict but he didn’t beat us like other slave masters did. I made a choice to join the Jedi because I believed it was my destiny and it was what my mother wanted but I could not help feeling disappointed once I saw the Order’s true nature.”

“We stood for peace. You could have come out and helped it reformed it Anakin. You were the chosen one after all. The one who was promised.”

“I never wanted to be any of that. I just wanted to save people like Qui Gon saved me from a life of servitude but,” he turned to Mary, “your daughter was right. I was sold from one master to another and then another.”

Obi Wan watched the two exchange glances.   
“I should have listened to you when you warned about Sidious’ trap.”

“You knew Chancellor Palpatine was Sidious?” Obi Wan asked, turning to his daughter.

“No. What Anakin is referring to is a conversation we had five years ago before our offspring blew up the death star. Pooja Naberrie using a fake name, interviewed me about the latest assault on one of the Imperial bases and I was unaware of it so I didn’t know what to say then I contacted Va-Anakin and asked him if it was his doing and he assured me it wasn’t and after a long exchange of insults I told him that deep down, he was still a slave.”

Obi Wan was surprised that his daughter was so bold. Every officer who had spoken in the same way to Vader, had never lived to tell the tale. Inwardly he was proud. Arthur and the Emperor hadn’t taken all of her fighting spirit from her.

“Anakin, maybe it is better if we discuss this another time. He knows about the baby and he wants to help.”

“Listen to my daughter, Anakin, of the two of you, she is the one who is speaking most common sense now.”

“And of the two of us, she is the one who wants to die because her parents weren’t there when Arthur was raping her.” Anakin said and seeing the look on his former mentor’s face, he went on, “You didn’t know? I guess you thought it was only physical bruises. It is cute how you act the concerned parent when you never cared to acknowledge her.”

“Anakin, not now, please.”

“How many miscarriages did Queen Catherine have? Five? Six? I keep forgetting. Out of all of those dead babies, how many were yours? I suppose none. It is really strange that nobody suspected something strange when she finally gave birth to a healthy babe who took after her side of the family and as she grew, her hair and her eyes resembled those of a certain Jedi. While we were in bed she told me that when she was a child she had a bad dream about you and her mother in the same bed, naked as the day you were born. She convinced herself that it was a bad dream until she was old enough to realize that it wasn’t. To think Obi Wan that after all these years when you preached about the Jedi Code, you were no better than me. Did you sleep with the Duchess too? Did she remind you of the Queen? Where you sleeping with the two of them at the same time? Because that would make a lot of sense.”

“Anakin, that is enough!”  Mary yelled but Anakin went on.

“How many times did you have to tell yourself ‘I am a master, the rules don’t apply to me’ before you told me how wrong I was for forming an attachment to the Senator and then your daughter?”

“You have no idea what you are talking about Anakin. I stand by what I told you, the rules were put in place for a reason.”

“Because attachment clouded our vision but it didn’t cloud yours and it wasn’t one woman you were sleeping with but two.”

“That is not true. When I was with Satine, Catherine and I had not seen each other in a while. I was not a good Jedi but I aspired to be. I was flawed, just as the rest of the Jedi were and you knew that.”

“So you admit that the Jedi Order was flawed?”

“Yes, I do and it is why it would have benefited more from your involvement but you refused to work with us and now there is nothing but pure chaos.”

Anakin chuckled.

“What is so funny?”

“You. You lost control when I brought Mary into the conversation. You do care about her after all. It is too bad that she believes that she means nothing to you.”

Obi Wan looked at Mary. “Is this true?”

Mary hated that Anakin brought this up. She looked back at her father and nodded.

“I love you and your mother.”

“I know.” She said and not wanting to talk about this any further, she rose from her seat and said “I think I will go back to bed, I rather sleep alone tonight, Anakin.”

“Mary,” Obi Wan called but Mary didn’t call. She didn’t feel well and she didn’t want to see her father and Anakin bringing up the past again and using her to prove a point. Before she was out the mess hall, Obi Wan gently grabbed her arm, “Stay, you are in no condition to be alone. We will not discuss this in your presence if that is what you want.”

But Mary wasn’t convinced. “Just leave me alone for now, please.”

Obi Wan nodded and let her go. When she was out of sight he turned to Anakin. “Good job Anakin, there goes the one person who always was there for you and now you will blame me because you can’t blame anyone that isn’t you.”

“Spoken like a theologian. That is all Jedi were after all, theologians who cared more about debating what was wrong and what was right, rather than helping those at the bottom.”

“We made a vow to protect the Republic from any threat, foreign or domestic. What Mace Windu was something any Jedi Master in the Council would have done.”

“Including you.”

“Including me.”

“I don’t believe you. You were many things Obi Wan, but not a rule breaker. Out of all the Jedi Masters, you were the only one wise enough to see through the cracks and follow the Code.”

“Five minutes ago you were accusing me of breaking every rule now you are implying I was a fool for following it.”

“I still think you were a fool but not for following it. You devoted your life to the Jedi Order, I always admired that in you and I wanted to emulate you. In truth, so did Mary. Although she will never admit it to me, she always thought you were the exemplary Jedi.”

“She never gave that impression on me.”

“That is because you abandoned her and her mother and when you finally showed up, you told her to give up her daughters to some strangers.” Anakin said. “She loved you more than you will ever know or appreciate. That is why she is willing to die because she thinks that if she is punished, her children will see that maybe she isn’t a monster. I’ve tried to talk her out of it, and I have partially succeeded but she always wakes up and asks me if I truly love her? If she truly deserves you, her mother and the rest of us.” He sighed. “I am losing her.”

Obi Wan knew he was right and he didn’t stop him when he sat next to him and put his hand on his shoulder. He was surprised though, by his words, “You are not. Anakin, you and I have done a lot of things to one another and Mary is right, this is not the time to discuss them. But I want you to know that I did love you like a brother which is why it pains me to say this that I can never forgive what you’ve done.”

“I am not looking for your forgiveness. I only came here so she could be safe.”

“I know and I also know that you won’t stay long after this is over.”

“I won’t.” Anakin confirmed. “Mary wants to because she believes, like I told you, that we deserve to die but I don’t really care what happens to the rebellion after they win. I don’t care about the galaxy, people or anything except Mary and the child she is carrying.”

Obi Wan removed his hand. He couldn’t change his former friend’s mind. The spark that was once seen in Anakin’s eyes were gone. What was left of him, was reserved for Mary.

He loves her. And he would do anything to keep her safe. As long as she is here, we can use him. But did Obi Wan really want to use his daughter to manipulate Anakin? No. He had already told lies to manipulate Luke and Kyra, and he almost lost them to the dark side because of it. He wasn’t going to do repeat that mistake again.

“I can’t stop you if that is what you choose to do but I am going to warn you to be careful. The rebel leaders won’t be too happy after the Emperor is dead. They will still be out for blood and with you two in our power, you will be put on mock trial and humiliated before the entire galaxy before you are put to death.”

“They will have to cut me down before I let them touch one hair of Mary’s.”

“They won’t.” Obi Wan assured him. “Before they can get to you, they will have to arrest me.”

“Are you saying what I think you are saying?” Anakin asked, grinning at the thought of his master breaking the law.

“Do not get too cocky with me Anakin, this doesn’t change anything between us. But Mary is my daughter and for all that she has done, I can’t let them do that to her or you.”

“The hard part will be convincing her.” Anakin said. “She is determined to be punished.”

“Mary is hurt. She needs you now more than ever and if that baby is born before the Rebel Alliance wins, you need to take her right away before they come for you. I can provide a distraction, long enough for you three to escape.”

Anakin was not sure how to respond to that so he simply nodded instead and looked down at his hands, resting on top of the metal table. For an hour, the two men remained silent until Obi Wan spoke again and asked him about Marion and Leia. Anakin told him what Marion had said and his run-in with Princess Leia earlier today and how that gone as well as with the former.

“Can you blame them, though? They saw their planet blown up by the second most hated man in the galaxy.” Obi Wan said.

“So I was told repeatedly by the two of them. I do not understand people sometimes, or I do but I don’t really care.” Anakin said, it was more to himself than to his former mentor. “Everyone loves telling everyone of their sins like they are devoid of them themselves, expecting an apology and when they are not given one, they resort to not-so-honorable tactics. I say that because the rebels are good at painting themselves as the good guys but they don’t like seeing themselves as the same as the other side.”

“Now who is speaking in riddles? The Rebel Alliance wants democracy back, they are fighting for something greater than you and me, or even Mary. Luke wants to bring the Jedi Order back, and Kyra and Owen will help him.”

“Good luck with that.” Anakin said with a sardonic smile.

“Leia and Marion like Mon and the other rebel leaders understand the importance of it, and are working with all kinds of groups to bring down the emperor and bring about a new republic, one that will bring about true democracy.”

“Again, good luck with that.” Anakin said, not really caring what happened after the fight was over. He meant what he said to Obi Wan and so did his former master. There was too much bad blood between them, but they were willing to look past that for Mary’s sake.

Changing the subject to Mary, he asked him what he would do after he and Mary were gone.

“I don’t know. I could be a farmer like my stepfather and stepbrother.”

“You? A farmer? Do not make me laugh Anakin. I can barely picture you working at a pawn shop, let alone farming.”

“I worked in a pawn shop before as a kid, I figure farming is not that different.”

“Suit yourself, I doubt Mary will adapt to it.”

“You do not know your daughter, Obi Wan. She can adapt to anything.” Anakin said.

“I don’t doubt that she can, but will she want to? The outer rim is too dangerous and the uncharted territories outside of our galaxies are even more dangerous.”

“Would you rather we stay here with your lot?”

“I rather we were not in this situation at all.” Obi Wan said. “You can go to one of the Mandalorian domains. The old republic never cared much for them, the new republic might but they won’t be interfering with their traditions unless they want them as enemies.”

“That is an interesting idea but I prefer the farming idea. It is a nice end to our story. The Jedi hero turned villain turned farmer with his wife and adopted son. Maybe you can write a book about it like Jon’s old friend wrote a book about his story, the song of ice and fire, before he was killed.”

“I doubt anyone would read the ramblings of an old Jedi.” Obi Wan said.

“Shame, it would make for a good story.” Anakin said.

When morning came, they went back to their respective chambers. Obi Wan quietly slipped underneath the covers while Anakin slept on the couch next to the bed where Mary was sleeping.

* * *

 

Owen and Kyra were playing chess when Mary Stuart and Bess asked if they could join them. “There is always room for one more.” Owen said.

They changed positions, Owen playing with Mary and Bess with Kyra. The latter enjoyed Bess and Mary’s company because they were the only women on the base, before Carina came, whom she could relate to.

“Looks like the sibling team wins again.” Owen said triumphantly knocking down Mary’s King with his white queen while Kyra did the same, except it was her tower that ate Bess’ King.

“Show-off.” Mary pouted. “We can still win in sabaac, don’t we Bess?” Bess nodded and challenged them to that game. And as they promised, they won.

Owen groaned hearing them cry out in triumph.

“Stuart and Tudor power, deal with it!” Mary said. Bess laughed.

“Well, technically I am a Tudor so it is half Tudor and Stuart power.”

“Whatever, we still won fair and square and you just can’t accept that.” Bess said, loving when her cousin got mad. Even Kyra gave a discreet laugh.

“I can accept that you won, it is just semantics that bother me.”

“Semantics.” Bess mocked. “Seriously Owen, you need to start working on your insults. They work on Marion and Leia but not on us cos.”

Owen felt happy that Bess called him cousin for the first time. Kyra felt happy too, knowing how hard it had been for him to adapt to rebel life. She gave him a small smile.

“So, now that your mother is here, what are you going to say to her?” Bess asked her cousin and her niece Kyra. Although everyone had to remind her she wasn’t her niece, Bess always told the elders that blood didn’t matter to her. Kyra was her niece, plain and simple. Family is the people who loved you. Blood had nothing to do with it.

“I don’t know. A part of me wants to tell her that we all deserve a second chance but that part of me is just the me being nice. The rest of me wants to tell her the truth.” Kyra said. “As bad as it sounds, she needs to hear the truth more than sweet words.”

“I don’t think that is going to work.” Owen said. “I love my mother but she has been through a lot and bringing up the past might not be a good thing. I think we should just wait and focus on saving Han.”

“How is saving Han Solo from Jabba the Hut will make things better?” Mary Stuart asked.

“Leia is hurt just as all of us. I have grown around politicians my whole life and spineless people and by spineless I mean truly spineless people. And one thing I have learned is that no matter how good someone is as masking their feelings, they will always manifest one way or another.”

“That still doesn’t answer my question.”

“What he means Mary is that he thinks we should focus on dearest Highness’ Leia’s boyfriend so she can forget about the whole Mary and Vader thing and then, once she gets him back, she can reconsider granting them a pardon.” She turned to Owen. “Right?”

“Pretty much, yeah though I would not have used that sarcasm. Good sarcasm though.”

“Thank you. I learned from watching Leia and the other rebel leaders.” Bess said, everyone shared a laugh.

Kyra felt sad for her half-sister and her twin. She didn’t like the idea of laughing behind their backs, but she was done caring for them. What she had seen in her visions had been too much for her. Her uncle’s visits had become more frequent since her parents’ arrival, and while he told her not to mind what the others said about her, she couldn’t help it at time. At others, she did and told _herself ‘what will be, will be.’_ Like one of Bess’ mother’s motto when she had been queen -If people thought of her a certain way, she would let them. If there was nothing she could do to convince them otherwise, then it was best to let things run their course.  
She was not a dictator. She was here to fight and bring hope, not to dictate what other people feel or thought. Like every member who believed in freedom, she exercised her freedom of speech and if people wanted to listen to her, then fine, and if not, then it was also fine. _That is what freedom is all about_.

* * *

The Seymours were happy to hear that they were planning a rescue mission for Han. Jane had worked very hard in convincing various members of their inner circle to focus their energies of Han. Like her nephew and brother when he was his son’s age, she had exaggerated, claiming that Han’s many contacts while he was a space pirate could provide them with valuable allies who would help them bring down the Empire.

Leia was not happy to meet with Jane Seymour. She, Anne and Thomas were always on her case, thinking she was responsible for Han getting captured, but thankfully she got none of that.

Maybe this is something I have Vader and the Lady Mary to thank for. The sooner they were out of her sight the better. Luke and Kyra talked of forgiveness endlessly, her brother most of all. Kyra had not pressed her and Marion on the subject. Luke on the other hand, went on about the dark side of the Force and how their hatred for Vader would corrupt them if they let it consume them.

Luke can speak all about forgiveness all he wants. I had a family and though we weren’t related by blood, they raised me and loved me as their own. Vader was not their father and she would never think of him as such. Just thought of it, made her cringe. And while Luke keeps saying that hatred makes us weak, it is our hatred of Vader which has kept me, Marion and countless others in this Rebellion alive.

She told them about the coordinated attack. “There won’t be a lot of spies we can use. Lando has a few contacts with the Ayakashi sisters who have worked in the area before. They told him that Jabba rarely leaves his palace now with the recent uprisings so that is our window of entry.”

“How can we be sure they won’t betray us?” Mon asked.

“They won’t.” Leia assured her. “Lando and Han knew them in their smuggling days and they have always provided the Rebels with good intel.”

“So there you go then,” Marion told Mon “We do this now or we don’t do it at all.”

“Agreed, but be careful. We only have one window of opportunity and that is it.”

“Do not worry Mon, this operation will be flawless. If anything should go wrong our Jedi will be there to save the day.” Leia said referring to Luke and Kyra.

Mon nodded. The meeting was adjourned, everyone but Leia and Marion remained.

“Are you sure that you want to put our siblings on the field after five months of no action?” Marion asked.

“It is either now or tomorrow. This can’t wait and like you said, we do this now or we do not do this at all. You can tell Kyra and Luke all about it. I am sure they won’t hesitate.”

Marion nodded and went ahead and told their siblings. Leia was left pondering on the thought of seeing Han again. She wasn't cold, though a small minority thought she had turned cold. _They do not know what will happen to them if the Empire wins._

Everything depended on their success. The old republic was not perfect and that is why Leia fought as hard as she did. Because being raised as a Princess, she realized that there were many others who were less fortunate than her, who would benefit from someone fighting for them so they didn't have to.

* * *

Just as Leia predicted, Luke and Kyra didn’t hesitate. They spent their last days before the mission training with Obi Wan, sparring with Owen. Owen wanted to join them, but Luke and his grandparents told him it wasn’t wise. His mother weighed in, although her opinion was dismissed. But Owen being a Tudor through and through, once a thought crossed his mind, it was impossible to dissuade him. And he had Kyra’s backing who believed her half-brother was ready for combat. She had seen his progress and he could take on as many of Jabba’s palace guards as she and Luke could.

* * *

 

"Grand Admiral, sir." Thrawn turned to his aide. "Lord Tudor's team has intercepted a transmission from the rebels. They intend to go to Tatooine to rescue Captain Solo."

"Interesting. Tell Lord Tudor that I am grateful for this information and tell him to stay put."

"Yes, sir."

It looks as if all the pieces of the chessboard are ready to be played with. He thought. The rebels would get Han Solo, of that he was sure. The smuggler would go back to his princess and the two Jedi Knights would take credit in his rescue. _If I knew better, another knight will be added to their team._ The footage of Owen Tudor fighting alongside the Rebels would be all he needed to give to Lady Sansa who in turn, would hand it over to the Emperor.

If there was one thing Thrawn enjoyed, was seeing everyone playing against one another. King vs king, queen vs queen. Knight vs Knight. Pawn vs pawn.

Thrawn took the black queen from the chess piece he had obtained in one of his illegal purchases. It had belonged to the legendary Catholic Kings. He had other three which belonged to different dynasties from Europe and the Ottomans, but they didn't seem appropriate for us at the moment.

As his gloved fingers danced around the queen, he reached the top where her crown rested and with a strong squeeze, broke it. Arthur Tudor would get his queen and his lover back, and in turn, lady Sansa would get Owen Tudor out of her daughter's way and the Lady Mary humiliated.

Everything would go according to plan. Thrawn put the figure back in her position, next to her king. She looked pathetic now next to him. It was a pity that this game wasn't like it was in the old days, when the queen had little power and could move only so far.

Thrawn turned on the music again and took out a book. It was not as ancient as the others, but it was rather old. The death of King Arthur by one Sir Thomas Mallory. It was a tale of love, lust and betrayal. Most of the admirals didn't see the value in paper, they thought it was outdated and a product of a forgotten era. Thrawn on the other hand, could feel himself immersed in the past every time he grabbed one of these texts. It was like a manual, telling him everything about the person who wrote it, from his tastes in art, his religion and lastly the society he lived in. He closed once he finished it.

Had Vader been wiser, he would have stayed in the Empire. Everyone knew that the Emperor wasn't going to last long and there were some loyalists -loyal to Vader- who believed that he would make a better Emperor and were willing to do anything to make that happen.

But alas, it was not to be. Vader as Arthur in Sir Mallory's re-telling of the English legend, chose love over duty. 

It was the one reason why he always supported the Emperor. He was nothing but a man. No amount of Sith powers were ever going to change that, and yet in spite of his old age, he was able to maintain control and bring much needed order to the galaxy.

 _And that is what people care about the most_. Order. Justice. Princess Leia believed she spoke for the people but the young woman was as ignorant as she was stupid. And if there was one thing that Thrawn didn't tolerate was stupidity.

 _And yet people love her._ They loved royalty and one as beautiful and plain spoken as her got all the praise. The under-dog who lost her planet and was unjustly treated. Who didn't love a story like that? 

_She will die._


	28. Turning Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the rebellion is mounting a rescue plan for Solo, two youths decide to join them.

“ _All my friends are heathens_  
take it slow  
wait to ask you who you know  
please don’t make any sudden moves  
you don’t know the half of being abused  
all my friends are heathens  
take it slow  
wait for them to ask you who you know  
please don’t make any sudden moves  
you don’t know the half of being abused…”  
~Heathens, Suicide Squad Soundtrack (2016)

Only three things mattered to Sansa, family, duty and honor. In truth, she had never thought of herself as a Stark growing up. Her parents raised her to be the perfect lady, and although her father claimed he preferred Arya, he couldn’t deny he felt pride when he saw Sansa, standing tall and proud, the perfect mirror image of Catelyn Stark when she was young.

 _Now Catelyn Stark is nothing but a pile of bones._ Lady Catelyn could sense the end was coming. Sansa tried to divert her attention from her impending fate, telling her about her daughter and how beautiful she was becoming. Without the warrior gear, she looked every bit like an Ice Princess. And Eddard took after his namesake. Honorable to boot. But her mother remained worried.

 _“Very soon I will be gone from this world and there will be nothing you can do to prevent that boy from ruining your daughter. The Lady Melisandre has seen it, I can see it.”_ Lady Catelyn told her, remarking on the way Lya turned down her other suitors and kept that miniature of Owen close to her bed _. “You must start thinking of the future. When I was your age I had nothing but you and Robb and the rest of your brothers and sister. I freed the Kingslayer to get you and Arya back and it cost me dearly. Women in our position can’t afford to be weak. After I am gone, you will be the only one left to protect your family.”_

Sansa knew that all too well. It is why she made a deal with Thrawn _. If gods forbid, something happened to Jon, she would be the only left to look after their children. But should something happen to them. I can’t think of it. But something **can** happen and should that come to pass, I will have no choice but to do the unthinkable._

From Cersei Lannister she had learned a great deal. For one, how to make yourself feared and respected. The latter thanks to her mistakes. And Cersei did so many.

Unlike Mary, she didn’t celebrate when Margaery, Olenna and Cersei were blown up, along with the rest of Alderaan. They were people who had helped her grow as a person, so there was nothing to feel for them.

Only the weak mourn and feast on their enemies’ defeat. Sansa was not going to let feelings get the best of her. While Jon prided himself in being a leader, it was Sansa who saved them many times from falling into disgrace.

Sitting across Thrawn, she eyed him carefully. Who knew what was going through the mind of that upstart Chiss? _Will he betray me? Of course he will._ Why should she even ask herself that question? The man was an opportunist of the worst kind. He would betray his own mother if it meant staying on the top. But he has his reasons for keeping me safe. And those reasons were all that Sansa was invested on at the moment.

* * *

Kyra closed her eyes, concentrating on the vision that she had been having for weeks since her parents’ arrival. Unlike the others in the base, she did not mind what people said behind her back. She loved freedom. Not just the idea of it, but what it meant for her. Was she selfish for admitting she practiced what the others didn’t? Of course she was. Was it self-righteous? That depended on someone’s point of view, and from what she learned in her short life, was that it varied from person to person, and species to species.

Humans were looked down upon by some species, and admired by others for their capacity to feel. It is what makes us unique. And weak.

Two hundred million years of evolution, and they were still children. _What makes us weak is not our capability to feel. The Jedi had it wrong. It is our unwillingness to compromise and bring balance without ourselves._

The Jedi Code was not flawed, its interpretation was. Same as the Sith Code. In its simplicity, when you joined the two, it created for the perfect system. _Flawless._ But keep them separate and you have chaos.

We are capable of doing so much good, but we are so scared of what others will say and think that we put our priorities on hold and forget that the most important drive of every creature is survival. And survival didn’t meant stomping over others because someone willed it so. It means helping one another, creating a safe space where ideas can be debated without intimidation and using self-pity as a tool for defense.

Her mother’s sins were her own and she had no one else to blame for herself, but if the Rebel Alliance went ahead with what they had in store for her and lord Vader, then it another cycle of violence would ensue.

The road to hell is paved with the best of intentions. It was a phrase she had come up after her first conversation with her parents that didn’t involve light-saber fighting. Religion was a system that was instituted to keep people submissive. With slogans like ‘fear the unknown’ or ‘be careful what you wish for’ people never asked important questions such as ‘What if it is all make-believe?’ ‘What if there is no god or gods? What if it is all just a construct of some mad prophet?’ or ‘some unwed mother who was forced to lie so she wouldn’t be stoned to death?’  
Whenever someone asked these questions, parents would hand their children over to priests to purify them. And by purify, the priests would always mean beating or death _. Death by fire_ , the Red and Christian priests often said, _is the purest death._ Because souls were purified from sin and were allowed to enter heaven.  
But for Kyra, there was nothing pretty in being burned alive. She had suffered a major burn on her back and it hurt like hell. Though she was cured in weeks, the days she spent in recovery weren’t easy. Now, she imagined those who were back on Earth, before modern medicine had been introduced. How many of them died because of superstition? Because their priests, their parents or their rulers thought it was the right way to ‘cure’ them?

People had the choice to interpret her words in whatever way they wished. Those who slandered her, would lose. It upset her. It always did. But she did not have the right to change their minds. She was a free woman with the right to express her opinion, just as her twin sister and their half-siblings, Luke and Leia. She didn’t press on the subject more than once, because that was not the kind of person she was.

She opened her eyes and saw herself in a dark room. A young woman with three weird looking buns, brown hair and brown eyes was crying over the unconscious form of her friend. Behind Kyra, was a dark presence whose signature felt familiar. When she turned, she thought she was staring into the armored form of her father but as her vision became clearer, she realized it wasn’t.

The vision ended and she was brought back to the present. “Curious.” She said to herself, rising slowly, elegantly, as if going to an important meeting where everyone was waiting for her. Staring at herself in the mirror, she realized how this girl’s eyes were so similar to hers and yet so different.

 _The same eyes in a different person._ She would not revisit this vision again. It was pointless. The future was never set. It was always in motion. Like the current, it could go one way or another way. Brushing her hair behind her ear, she realized that what happened at the end of this war would determine everyone’s fate. And her only fear from that was that their choice would make the visions that had been haunting her, true.

~o~

Master Yoda was disappointed. The Jedi had done so many mistakes. Although they said that they were not slaves to their emotions, they had. Emotions had not made them weak, but their unwillingness to create a balance between that and reason, had. He had contacted Kyra through their mental connection. Kyra told him about the visions she had, and Master Yoda smiled grimly.

“Nothing … can we do.” Yoda paused as another cough came.

“Master Yoda, you should save your strength.”

“No, listen to me, you must. Luke, listen, he shall not. Death … “ Another cough. Yoda gripped his cane tighter. The connection was being broken. He had to tell her now before it was too late. “… prevent … them … shame … walk … must you … if not, evil will rise.”

He was too late. He could not relay the rest of the message. He had been too weak. He sighed. He and Obi Wan had deposited all their hopes on the Skywalker children, and they had proven untrustworthy. Kyra was the only one who was in tune with the future as her brother but the latter didn’t want to listen.

And no one will listen to Kyra. _Too emotional, they are._

 _Again, in motion, the future is._ Perhaps the Jedi had been wrong. Anakin might have not been the chosen. Or maybe he was but not the only one. In all their prophecies, the Sith and the Jedi and those in between before their fall, spoke of one who was promised but by the end of every prophecy, it looked as if the scrolls were talking of more than one person.

 _Wrong we were about Skywalker._ Anakin Skywalker could have been just one key of the puzzle. His children, failures they were. Most of them by choice, blinded by their feelings, and two because their brethren refused to listen to them.

 _The Other One … who is he?_ Yoda wondered. Tired to ponder on the subject, he let go of his cane and went back to his bed to rest.

It was a pity. For a thousand generations, the Jedi were the guardians of peace across the galaxy. Before he closed his eyes, he heard the voice of his dear old friend, Master Qui-Gon Jinn, assuring him that there was still hope.

“They can still listen.”

 _Will they?_ The Jedi had wasted too many opportunities on these youths. The reasonable were scorned, while the irrational were praised and it was they who would be responsible for the destruction of everything they held dear _. Pity, so much anger. So much hatred._ When humans reverted back to their animal states and let their emotions get the best of them, they were no better than the creatures they hunted.

* * *

 

 “Fuck it.” Eddard said to himself. He hated Owen for not trying to attempt an escape. Yes, it would have been suicide, but at least his mother wouldn’t be reduced to plotting, and his father to being so blunt with his sister.

Some days Eddard just hated these people. Sure, he loved them, but you could hate a person and love them at the same time. That was what he felt about his parents. His mother was a lady through and through and a realist who didn’t say much but when she did, her words were like sharp arrows. As for his father, the man was the warrior. Their hero growing up. But since Vader and the lady Mary had turned their backs on the empire, he had become colder and distant.

He really wants to drive a wedge between Lya and Owen. It was not going to work. His sister was like her namesake, their grandmother and their late aunt Arya. Once she set her mind on something, by the gods, nothing was going to change that.

He wanted to bang his head against the wall. _What is it with people and feelings? I feel angry, I feel sad. It is stupid!_ People who gave into their anger were no better than the insects they stepped on! At least he was smart enough to know that. He was not the great leader his mother wanted him to be, or that his father still had hopes for. But he was no love-sick fool.

Many of his friends were killed by those hypocrites. Many of which had been good people. Most of them perished on the death star. Their crime? Following orders. A boy of fifteen, was the youngest who was so happy to be aboard the greatest Imperial structure. Eddard had met him in the Academy. He had schooled him. He was a boy from a poor family who had been looked down upon by Princess Leia’s lot. When he had gained the rank of Corporal, he was happy. He claimed _“I am the youngest one ever.”_ Followed by _“I owe you everything master Eddard!”_  
Eddard told him not to call him that. He was simply Ned. The boy never forgot that and from then on, the two were always on simpler terms. His mother was angry because that was not natural but Ned didn’t care. He was his friend. Ned didn’t care where a person came from as long as they did their duty.

When he found out about the Sun Twins and what they’d done, and how the Rebel Alliance had decorated them and that smuggler with medals, handed by Princess Leia, his knees nearly gave out. Owen and Lya did not say anything. They knew that it was better for him to mourn alone. He was a private person who didn’t like the idea of letting other see his emotions.

 _It was pathetic_ -he remembered telling himself after he wiped the tears from his cheeks. They died and no one can mourn for the death. Death had no pity. It came to everyone no matter what. Those who said that death was a vehicle to make people reflect or put words in their loved ones’ mouths, claiming that their vengeance was what they would have wanted, deluded themselves.  
Death was death, end of story.

Lya reminded him of Elizabeth the other day and goaded him. “Aren’t you going to do something for her?” Of course he wanted to, but it would be betraying everyone he loved. The Empire was weak and cruel. He had become aware of that thanks to Elizabeth, but the Rebel Alliance was no better.

And if there was one thing Ned hated was hypocrisy. His mother practiced it for a living, but the difference between his mother and the ones leading the Rebellion, including the traitors in their custody, was that his mother was not afraid to admit it. She embraced what she was, while those in the rebellion, did not.

Lya’s words still lingered on his mind though. He could not let Bess face what she was about to face alone. And while he had no love for the Sun Twins, he would put up with them. _Tools like Lya, Owen and I._ Their eyes had probably opened to the truth. As for the rest … He had no desire to meet with the Princess Leia, Lady Marion, Mon Monthma, the Earth Queens, Sir Thomas Seymour, General Ackbar and all the other rebel leaders.

I will be signing my death sentence. But death was so peaceful and you only lived once, and if he was going to die, better die doing something he wanted rather. Without a second thought, he went to Lya and told her of his plan. Lya rose an eyebrow. This didn’t sound like the brother she knew, but she liked this new Ned.

“We are not going to meet those annoying bitches and assholes, are we?” Lya asked, always plain spoken and not afraid to curse like a smuggler.

“If we are lucky, no but given that we are half Stark and Targaryen, luck is never on our side.” Ned told her, packing his blaster, dagger and putting Lya’s stuff in his backpack.

Once they were on a ship, Lya told him she had dreamed of kicking some of the male leaders in the nut sack.

“You are too bold for your own good. Even Owen will think that was done in poor taste.”

“Like you haven’t thought of it. Imagine, General Riekan hanging from a rope, Sir Thomas choking from the wine of ages, and the rest throwing up their last supper.”

“Goodness gracious.” Ned said, but he couldn’t help but laugh at the thought.

“And what would you do Her Highness Leia and her companion?”

“I would make give her something special.” She said, winking at him.

“If I did not know you so well sis, I would say that you would cook her a pie in the remains of her adoptive parents but too bad for you that they are dead.”

“Yeah, you do know me very well but a human part is a human part and there are so many that haven’t been burned yet that she’s killed. Having a piece of our friends, knowing what she’s killed, would be gold.” Lya smiled deviously. “And she is not so saintly. If I learned one good thing from our aunt’s example, is not be afraid to show others what you think of them.”

“But you are forgetting that she is not the only one. Lady Marion has coordinated many of those attacks as well as other rebel leaders.”

“I would give them something special, but the sweetest treat would be for those two.” She said, referring to lady Marion and princess Leia. “Who would have thought they were Sith spawn.”

That had come as a surprise for Ned as well. But then it made complete sense. He had seen the hatred in their eyes after their ambush at Cloud City.

“Which brings all your evil schemes down.”

“A girl can dream.” Lya said, winking again at him.

Ned smiled. “When we get to Owen, what will you tell him? Hey sweetheart, I am here, kiss me now?”

“Owen and I don’t need to tell ourselves those things. I will know once I see him.” Lya said then asked him, “What will you tell Bess? Are you going to bend the knee and beg the auburn haired Princess to kiss you?”

“She is not that kind of woman.” Although she did enjoy poems and all thattypes of nonsense. Ned knew all about that, but he never saw the merit in wasting his talent on another person, even someone he cared about.

“Liar. If you are smart, you will heed my advice and compose her a poem, and maybe, just maybe, she will allow you to kiss her.”

“Why would I waste words on someone when I can show her with my actions?”

“For someone who claims to be very bright, you are not very bright Ned. Just do it.” Lya told him and to stop her from checking on him every two seconds, he did just that. He wasn’t going to give this to Bess until the right moment arrived. He still thought this was a bad idea. Actions mattered more than words. But Lya was right that for a person like Bess, things such as these were essential.


	29. Legacy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The grand reunion and the commitment of Leia and Marion to have their adoptive parents' legacy live on through their actions. As these two women strengthen their resolve, their paths become more solid.

_“Like the legend of the phoenix_  
_all ends with beginnings_  
_what keeps the planet spinning_  
_the force of love beginning_

_(Look)_

_We’ve come too far to give up who we are_  
_So let’s raise the bar_  
_and our cups to the stars_

 _She’s up all night until the sun_  
_I’m up all night to get some_  
_She’s up all night for good fun_  
_I’m up all night to get lucky_  
_We’re up all night until the sun_  
_We’re up all night to get some_  
_We’re up all night for good fun_  
_We’re up all night to get lucky_  
_We’re up all night to get lucky_  
_We’re up all night to get lucky_  
_We’re up all night to get lucky_

 _The present has no ribbon_  
_Your gift keeps on giving_  
_What is this I’m feeling?_  
_What is this I’m feeling?_  
_If you wanna leave I’m with it_  
_We’ve come too far to give up who we are_

 _So let’s raise the bar_  
_and our cups to the stars_

 _She’s up all night until the sun_  
_I’m up all night to get some_  
_She’s up all night for good fun_  
_I’m up all night to get lucky_  
_We’re up all night until the sun_  
_We’re up all night to get some_  
_We’re up all night for good fun_  
_We’re up all night to get lucky_  
_We’re up all night to get lucky_  
_We’re up all night to get lucky_  
_We’re up all night to get lucky”_

**_~Get Lucky by Daft Punk_ **

_“Is it moral to believe your sins, yours and mine ladies and gentlemen, can be forgiven by the punishment of another person. Is it ethical to believe that? And the doctrine of caring is redemption by human sacrifice is utterly immoral … Compulsory love is another sickly element … I could say, you are in debt, I could pay your debts for you, maybe you will pay it back someday but I will pay it for you, I could save if I really loved someone, I could say ‘I will serve your sentence and try and do it.’ I could do like in the tale of two cities, if you’d like … I would take your place on the scaffold but I can’t take away your responsibilities, I can’t say you didn’t do it, I can’t make you wash clean … Scapegoating … That abolishes the concept of personal responsibility upon all ethics and morality must depend.”  
**~Christopher Hitchens**_

It had been ten hours since the Targaryen-Stark siblings arrived and they couldn’t shut up about how her and Leia and the rest of the rebel leadership had their heads so up their privileged asses. And then there was all this massive influx of new recruits. _Where are they coming from?_ And where the hell was her twin sister? _Fraternal twin sister_ , her mind reminder her. _Whatever_ , she needed to find her now. On second thought, she stopped in her tracks. She could just be meditating and be up to doing nothing important. She turned away and walked back to her room. Doreah was absent training these new recruits.

“It is fun!” She squealed when she found out that she had more people to train. “I will teach them all about Dorne! My father’s legacy will live on.” Marion had to resist rolling her eyes. Doreah always had a way of seeing the best in all situations. She wished she could do that too but with this new mission coming up, she had to stay focused.

I can afford to mess this up. After an hour of sleep, she rose and changed her robes to regular ones that people used on Tatooine. Under the alias of Kande Akron, she was going to enter Jabba’s palace as one of his dancers. It wasn’t something she was looking forward to. Demeaning, disgraceful, but necessary.

When she reached the planet’s atmosphere, it took her less than an hour to get hired by the local band. Like her mother, she was a better dancer than a singer. Although her mother always said that her voice was magical, Marion preferred using her movements to enchant rather than her voice.

 _What would my lady mother think if she saw me now_? She would probably have a hard time not grinning or smirking at seeing her daughter entertaining one of the best known gangsters in the galaxy.

As she finished her shift and went to her quarters, something caught her ear. “Have you heard about the new school near …” She moved closer to the two youths talking. Jabba opened his palace to visitors sometimes. This was one of those times. It was a great way to show off his power. And keep people scared. _How were Luke and Kyra able to keep their sanity intact?_ She wondered. Rape, murder, and serfdom. It was appalling! The only good thing (she grudgingly admitted to herself) that the Empire had done was eliminating slavery.

As she got closer to the four teens, she saw that they were two humans. Two girls of fifteen, maybe sixteen or seventeen, give or take and the other two were also girls but of a different species.  
One of the human girls nodded her head. “I went there. The tutors there were really nice, strict but fair. I can’t explain it, but everyone pitched in afterwards and we didn’t have to pay for lunch. We helped the school teacher make it from items on our hose.”

“I thought you said that she was not the school teacher.” One her alien companions said.

“She isn’t, but she is there from time to time helping the others. She helped us the other day when we were about to get mugged by two of our local gang men.”

“You should be careful.” One of the alien females said. “I would rather be robbed than upset one of those guys. My sister tried and she ended up being sold into slavery.”

“But slavery is illegal.” The other alien companion, who was clearly shocked at her statement, said.

“In theory but with the recent war nobody is paying attention to the farthest rock from the capital. Not that they ever did.” She added quickly, showing great resentment.

Marion felt a little guilty. But it dissolved as quickly as she heard the other alien female speak.

“The Empire doesn’t care about us and now that Vader is gone, slavery will return. I wish one of those idiots came here so they see how it is to live. The rebels are no better.”

No better. If she only knew the extent of the Empire’s cruelty, this alien girl wouldn’t be speaking so loosely.

“At least we have the sun twins.” Her alien companion replied. “It is too bad we only have one.”

“Yeah. No one who comes from here wants to return or speak about it. I know that if I ever leave this dump, I would never want to return to this rock.”

“I hear you.” Her human companion said. A sound from Jabba’s throne room made them turn.

“Let’s go before one of his goons come.”

“The twin suns are going to go down soon. We can’t go home.” One of the alien girls said.

“We can go to the school. She will probably be there.”

 _She?_ Before Marion could ask them who they referred to, they had already left. _I will have to look into this school later on._

* * *

When Marion decided to investigate, she was appalled to find a gang about to rape a girl. Not on my watch. She thought, about to unsheathe her blaster when suddenly, the scrawny girl smiled and revealed a dagger she hid under her robes and with one swift move, slit the three men’s throats.

What in the seven hells? She didn’t get to finish her line of thought as her fraternal twin sister came from this school and greeted the newcomer. “Alta! You came! I hope the journey wasn’t too perilous.”

“None at all. Though you might have to call the cleaners.” Alta said turning her direction to three men she’d killed.

Kyra shook her head. “I know, violence is never the answer but when you have no other option, you must defend yourself. You said a girl can’t be without a good knife in hand so I chose this.” Alta said showing her, her dagger.

“That is one fine craftsmanship. It’s from your mothers, I gather.” Alta nodded, taking down her hood, revealing a blond haired beautiful human girl.

If only I wasn’t married, Marion thought. It is not like Doreah’s parents were faithful. But no, Marion was and she would never do that to Doreah. Though that didn’t stop her from fantasizing.

Gods damn it, Marion thought, pushing those thoughts of her head. She came from the shadows and addressed her fraternal twin sister, “So this is what you have been doing in your free time?” Marion couldn’t help but smile at her sister in approval as many students came from the school. Not just women, but young human and alien males as well.

“I am impressed.”

“Thank you Marion. Girls, boys, this is my sister. She is one of the great leaders of the rebellion, a true fighter and a great friend.” Jane Kyra said, no longer thinking of herself as just Kyra. She had embraced who she was and was not afraid to show it to her pupils.

“You are part of the rebellion?” One little girl of nine-year-old, whose black hair, tan-skinned and brown eyes made her look oddly familiar. It soon clicked to her.

“Ayan Darklighter? Biggs’ cousin?” Ayan nodded. “I knew your cousin. He was a good pilot.”

“I know. After he died, the empire came for his family, I had to hide in friends’ homes.” She recounted as if it was an everyday thing.

“That is where I found her.” Jane Kyra said smiling at Ayan who gave her a toothy grin in return. “And brought her to this school.”

“Which I helped co-found!” Ayan said, turning to Marion. Her smile became wider. She was happy to meet one of the greatest leaders of the rebellion. She was everything that Jane Kyra said she was _. “My sister is a true leader and my half-sister is a true shield-maiden.”_ When her class had asked her what that was, Jane Kyra explained that it was a female Viking warrior. _“The Vikings are no more but their blood flows in a lot of humans’ veins. It flows in my twin and although it doesn’t on Princess Leia, she is very much one.”  
_ Everyone wished they could meet those two. The teens were more pessimist, thinking the rebellion was no better, but no one could deny that when Jane Kyra spoke, time stopped and they were transported across the other side of the galaxy. She encouraged them to read and learn martial arts. She didn’t make them, though. She was not that type of teacher. And that is why she was loved. She hated to be referred to as a Goddess _. “I am not a goddess.”_ She’d say, but to so many of them she was. _“I am just like you. I got good at what I do with training. But there will be people better than me. There always will be, just as there will always be people who are better than you at something, and you will be better than them at others.”_ But to them, it seemed like there would never be someone greater than her.

“That you did. Ayan here came with the name and the new pupils.”

“Yes, me, me!” Ayan said, jumping up and down. She took Marion’s hand and asked her, “Would you like to see the classrooms? Please?!”

How could Marion say no? With the same grace that her mother, Margaery Tyrell, possessed, she smiled at the wonderful little girl and said “yes.”

“Yupee!” Ayan gave her a private tour. It wasn’t a big school. “We are just starting. When the war is over, we will have more classrooms and everyone will pitch in!”

Ayan’s optimism was wonderful, Marion couldn’t help but be infected with it. “Do you like it?”

“I do. It is a wonderful project, Ayan. Your cousin would be very proud.”

“I know. But it is not just a project. It will always last. Everyone will make sure of it.” Ayan said, then gave her a book. One she had not seen in a long time. A copy of Sir Thomas Mallory’s The Death of King Arthur in French.

“You read French?” Marion asked, surprised that anyone in this planet would bother to read earth fantasies, let alone learn one of the planet’s many tongues.

“Of course, silly! It is the tongue of romance and it is the one that was used up until the Third Edward of England. The Seventh Henry  of that country even spoke it too from the short time he was in exile in France. Although I bet he learned it since he was in Brittany.”

“You know all that?” Ayan nodded. “Will you sign it for me. Here, a pen.”

“Sure but wouldn’t you want Kyra to sign it for you?” Ayan shook her head. “Why not?”

“Because you and Princess Leia are my heroes!” Ayan cried, forgetting that she was standing before the adoptive daughter of a former queen and bastard daughter of Vader and the Lady Mary, and hugged her, dropping her pen and book. “I always dreamed of this day. I am so glad that it came. You are everything I saw on the holo news. Someday I will be a warrior like you two.”

Marion was at a loss of words. The little girl went on, “Everyone thought that Jane Kyra was lying to make us feel better when she told us about yours and Leia’s exploits. One of the boys said ‘royal cunts don’t care about us’ but she told them that you do. She said ‘everything that they have done in democracy’s name, has cost them dearly’. The boys were silent after that.”

Kyra really meant that? As she turned her head and saw Jane Kyra lead the pupils to their instructors, she realized her twin sister did. Every word. She turned back to the little girl.

“They still called you and your half-sister names and said you would never understand our pain, but one history lesson from Jane Kyra reminded us what you went through. Most of us have lost a parent, a limb, or been tortured, but you lost a planet. Your entire family. I am sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry about that. It … is nothing.” She said, never fully realizing that there were worse things than what she had gone through. _But there are._ Her mother always said that Marion was too self-centered, fearing Cersei and her grandmother Olenna’s influences on her. _And she was right._ Marion never really thought about those below, what they went through in their daily lives. She had always felt pity for them, but never been truly empathetic.

After the little girl let her go, Marion knelt down to her. This girl has probably faced worse horrors than I will never know and there is no anger or resentment in her voice, just love. “Do you still want me to sign that book of yours?”

“Yes.” Ayan picked up the book and Marion signed it for her, drawing the Tyrell rose which she was never tired of showing off. It is my way of showing that the Tyrells will live on, long after we are all gone.

“I am going to keep this in my backpack next to my data-pad. I wanted to have every book known on Earth but one of the instructors says that is impossible so I had to conform with this data-pad.” Ayan told her, showing her an outdated data-pad. “I have some texts downloaded there. How many languages do you know?”

“Forty.”

“Really?” Marion nodded.

“Wow, I only know three.”

“It’s okay, you will get there. It took me years to master them.” Marion said, giving her a sympathetic smile. Ayan took her hand and led her to her room where she had paper dolls of her and Princess Leia.

It was usually the ‘Sun Twins’ who were loved and fawned over, not her or Leia. Seeing so many look up to them, was encouraging. And it made her realize how important this fight was _. It is not just for us, it is for them as well._

Before Marion returned to Jabba’s palace, she told her twin sister to keep up the good work and asked her if she was going to make her big entrance with Luke and play Jedi mind tricks on the palace guards after Leia and her unfroze Solo.

“Jedi mind tricks only work on the weak minds.” Jane Kyra reminded her.

“Come on, you know what I mean.” Marion said giving her that look that demanded a straightforward answer.

Her sister gave it to her, “I will. Just make sure that you and Leia scare that big fat slug enough.” Marion laughed at that, happy to hear her sister make a joke of this nature for once

“Don’t worry, we will.”

* * *

The grand reunion, as the three eternal friends called it, was anything but grand. The rebel quarters were worse than they thought. At the very least, they could sweep some of the floors. In the Academy, you were either organized or you weren’t and you were kicked out. Simple as that. But for Owen’s sake, they put up with it.

It was a shame that lady Elizabeth’s mother wasn’t too keen on meeting with Eddard _. “Her love interest”_ he was called. Anne frowned. She could see why she fell for this boy. He was elegant, dutiful and if the rumors were true, honorable like his namesake, but he was a former Imperial and his reasons for joining the Rebels were not good. She told Bess that as soon as Owen died, or this war was over, he would turn against them but her daughter didn’t listen.  
_She is just like you when you were her age._ A voice in her head said. And that was why Anne was strict with her. It was love that had led to her demise, she didn’t want Bess to make the same mistake as her.

But what Anne didn’t know was that Eddard Targaryen-Stark, also felt conflicted about his feelings for Bess.

He didn’t feel any sympathy for the rebels. Their goals and his and his friends’ goals were different. But he had no love for the Empire either. He was aware of what it had done, and what it was capable of, now that Vader and the lady Mary weren’t there.

“Now they are speaking about this nonsense of rescuing Solo.” Lya cried as she sat up, fully clothed. Thank the gods, thought her brother who wasn’t keen on being scarred for life. I am already a traitor in the eyes of the empire, I don’t have any desire to heave to deal with psychological scars as well.

“It is only a rescue. What can go wrong?” Owen asked, putting on a light jacket.

“Everything. Jabba the Hutt is the most notorious crime lord in the outer rim for a reason. Thanks to your mother and her sweetheart’s departure, he can do whatever he wants and no one can stop him.”

“It is not that bad. Princess Leia and lady Marion are already there and so is my half sister and her half brother.”

“You sound as if you trust them. Spending a lot of time with those two did affect you.” Eddard told his best friend, not happy to hear him speak him thus of those two women.

“Don’t forget that they are responsible for the murder of our friends. Boys we helped train.” Ned added.

“I know.” Owen said. “I could have been one of them if Vader hadn’t re-assigned me elsewhere.”

“But you weren’t. That is the point Owen. You were fortunate, so were Lya and I. If our parents weren’t high-up, we would have been among the many of youths who died. I don’t approve of what the Empire has done, but I did what I did nonetheless because it was my duty, so did my sister and so did you. And now you are ready to turn your back on all of that? For what? For two minutes meeting with one of the sun twins? What is she to you?” Before Owen could reply, Ned beat him to it. “So she is your half-sister. Congratulations. You know who else is related to you? Your parents! Your father has executed hundreds of people, and done unspeakable things since you left and now that your mother is here, can you imagine what he will do? Oh and let us not forget that she is pregnant? What life will that baby have? Having to live the life of the son of a disgraced woman? These people will never look at you or me or Lya or your sibling with good eyes. To them, we will always be Imperial vermin.”

“No different than what they are to us.”

“Don’t start with that argument Owen. This is not, let us treat everyone equally, follow the golden rule shit. These rebels will kill you as soon as this is over.”

“Then why are you here? You could have turned your back on me and continue to be among the rising stars in the Empire. Why follow me here?”

“Because you are our friend gods damn you! And because my sister loves you and gods damn me too, I don’t want to see you killed.” Ned shouted.

It surprised Lya as much as it surprised Owen.

Ned had always been reserved. He didn’t speak much and when he did it was to point someone’s flaws or guide someone along the right path. He was always there to facilitate Lya’s meetings with Owen, and calm his parents when they were angry, especially his mother who deposited all her hopes on him. He was incredibly intelligent, but he didn’t show it off.  
This was the first time that he had shown his true feelings and it dawned on his sister and his best friend, how much this was taking a toll on him.

“Did you ever think about how much your mother wept for you when you let yourself get captured by these people? She was beaten, dragged across the mud, and literally thrown across the room like a rag doll by your father. But of course you didn’t think of that. You were too busy getting to know your sweet sister, and tell me, did you love meeting that bitch and her half-sister, Marion and Leia as well? Were they so welcoming?”

“They lost their planet.”

“We all lost someone!” Ned cried, tears streamed from his eyes. _Gods help me._ He was about to put the last nail to the coffin. _But Owen and Lya need to hear it._ _They don’t know how much I have lost in this fight as well._ “Karsi Anzuk was someone I loved. My lady mother wanted me to marry her because it was the ‘honorable thing’ to do after she found us in bed.”

Lya’s eyes widened.

“I am not so honorable after all, surprise there sweet sister.” Ned said, seeing how she looked at him. She looked away. “I can’t say that I loved her, not in that way. She was good to look at but after our parents forced us to spend every weekend together. That is why I couldn’t be with you and Lya.” He laughed when he thought about how quick that girl thought. “She always got nervous talking, sometimes she didn’t make sense but she had a good heart and she thought she would get something good out of this marriage and sometimes I think she loved me. Or maybe she didn’t, maybe I am not making sense to you. Maybe I am turning as incoherent as she was, but despite all of that, I cared for her and I wanted to make her happy.”

His face became serious. “When she was re-assigned to the Death Star, I warned her about it. ‘Vader is not a man you want to serve. He doesn’t tolerate laziness’ and good heavens, she could be lazy at times but she wanted to make her parents proud.  Then the death star was blown up. The glorious Sun Twins! Not only was she there but people I helped get there through my connection. Good soldiers, good people!”

"Ned, I am sorry. I didn't realize how much it meant to you."

"That is because you never think Owen! You just go with your gut feeling! Your parents were always there to save you and if they weren't, you could always rely on me and Lya. I had to work hard to get to the position I was. My parents helped me, but I did most of the work myself because I was aware that someone of my status had much to prove to his peers. And so did Lya. As a girl, there was more pressure on her than me." Ned said, remembering how his mother wiped his tears and told him to stop crying and be a man while his lady grandmother told him that at his age his namesake and his grand-uncle Brandon, had already seen combat and had their first kill.

“Ned, our friends might have participated in torturing Leia or Marion…” Lya said.

“They didn’t! Stormtroopers did and tell me, did they deserve their fate because they were following orders? Let’s suppose they did not do what Vader did, what would have happened? No? No answer?”

“Ned, that is not what Lya meant.”

“That is exactly what she meant! Nobody disobeyed Lord Vader and got away with it. My father once killed an officer after he found out he was a rebel spy. Now imagine what he would have done if he found or even sensed, their sympathies for two rebel women?”

“Ned … I am so sorry.” Lya said, tears were streaming from her eyes. Owen was crying as well.

Ned turned so they didn’t see his tears. “There is more. Karsi invited her family. They were, as you know, one of the most prestigious first families of Naboo. The Naberries probably knew because once they found out about our betrothal which of course Karsi had to blabber to high and mighty Pooja Naberrie; they turned their backs on them. Nobody could ever prove their rebel sympathies but deep down everyone knew and seeing their rival family blown up was just too good. Karsi was two months pregnant. I was so scared but my father told me ‘you will do fine. You will be a great father’. Now I will never know.” He turned to face them again, his eyes completely red. “Will I?”

“But congratulations to the both of you for being together and congratulations Owen for finding your way back to your family, I am really happy for all of you and I wish you all the bloody best!” He said, ignoring Owen and Lya’s cries. When he was out of their room he found Bess outside, her eyes red.

“I didn’t know.” She told him. She expected an angry retort, starting with how dare she listen to his conversation with his sister and best friend, but there was none, just silence.

He just nodded and walked away, straight to the bar to drown his sorrows in alcohol. He always hated this stuff, but nothing seemed to do it. Everything seemed so surreal. He laughed madly. The people looked at him like he had lost his mind _. Good, let them fear me_. His laughter became higher as he ordered another bottle of their best wine. Nothing seemed to do the trick until he tried their smuggled Corellian wine.

The Anzuk, the Tudors, the Targaryens and Starks, even the Skywalkers, they were all fucked up. Closing time came and he refused to go. “I have credits.”

“I don’t care, you have to leave.”

“Come on, you need money don’t you? Here, just take it my good friend.” He said shoving credits in the man’s face. He called security and Ned was thrown out.

Bess was there again. I don’t need this. He moved past her but she followed him. “Just leave me alone!”

“No! You had your two cents now listen to me. Everyone here does want to kill you because of what your parents have done because everyone here is stupid not to see that the people they need to put holes through are the people responsible for their pain. If you want to be different then be different.”

“Oh do shut up Princess. I don’t have time to hear rants from a pampered, little-“

He didn’t get to finish his thoughts as she slapped him across the face.

“The next time you dare to call me that with such tones, it won’t be my hand you will feel but my blaster.” Bess said, extending her hand out to him who was on the floor, staring at her in shock. “Let’s get you back before someone cuts off your head.”

“Good, your mother will reward that person.”

“Just take my hand!”

“I don’t want to return to my sister.” He said, then added, “Or Owen.”

“Then walk me to my rooms. There is a spare bed. Mary is not here so you can use it.” She said, referring to her good friend, Mary Stuart.

“Won’t people talk?”

“Let them talk.” She said, using her mother’s old motto. _‘It will be what it will be.’_ “Here we are.” She waved her hand, the metallic door slid open. She signaled Ned to the bed next to her which in his opinion looked more like a pallet than a bed. He was too tired to argue, he just nodded and dropped on top of it.

“This is still a bad idea.” He said after Bess came from the bathroom, dressed in her nightgown. “Your mother will talk, she will say off with his head, that boy is just like his father.”

“The that makes me lucky. I would rather you be like your father who takes after his mother’s family than your Targaryen ancestors.”

Ned laughed. “She also said that. Sorry, I did not mean to talk about her. I never even talked about her until tonight.”

“You do not have to apologize. It is okay to feel sorrow.”

“Not like this.” Ned said, mentally chastising himself for letting Bess see his weak side. “My mother said we would have been very happy. But she was always good at making me feel better about myself so I just nodded. My sister was the one who lashed out on them every time they said something she didn’t agree on. Not me, I was just the servant. The dutiful son. Honorable Ned.” His expression soured. “I am not so honorable now.”

“You should get some sleep.” Bess said, slipping underneath the covers of her bed. “For what it is worth, I am sorry for what happened to your betrothed.”

Ned nodded, closing his eyes, refusing to say anything. Bess sighed and turned down the lights.

At least he was not shouting or getting drunk. That was something. She lied to him about her mother. She was worried about what she would do once she found out that he was sleeping in her quarters. But truth be told, a part of her was relieved because she didn’t want to care about public opinion anymore.  
_Ned doesn’t support the rebellion, but who knows what his opinion will be in the future_ Just as Owen, he could change his mind.

* * *

Jon nodded at the soldier’s report. His wife had cried, his mother-in-law, called him a bastard after many years when she pretended to like him, and Lady Melisandre said that this would not bode well. And to make matters worse, the Emperor told him that if evidence was found that Lyanna and Eddard had in any way given some aid to the rebel alliance, they’d be tried, regardless of their parents’ Imperial affiliations.

Jon went to his private quarters. A separate room from the one he shared with Sansa and without warning, took out his sword.  The one he had inherited as Lord Commander from Ser Mormont. Two statues his wife had commissioned after the birth of their son, of him and Sansa. **_'Until death do us part. The Wolf and the Dragon._** ' It read.

With one swift move, he ran his sword through them. He watched as their heads fell on the floor.

"The Wolf and the Dragon no more." He told himself. He was Jon Targaryen-Stark who had been betrayed by his fellow watchmen, who had killed in the name of the Empire. His marriage to Sansa meant nothing to him until their first offspring was born. Her lady mother always thought of Jon as the lowly bastard, regardless of where he came from. But after that baby was born, she shut her mouth. Now that both of his children were gone, lady Star was not going to waste any time reminding him of his failures.

Jon was through playing nice with the two of them. He didn't know how, but he was going to find a way to get his offspring back and whether it destroyed their spirit, he was going to convince them to bend the knee to the Emperor and beg his forgiveness. If they did not, he was going to make it. No more excuses. It was time for Ned to take responsibility and be the man that he and Sansa raised him to be and as for Lyanna. He had tolerated her behavior long enough. One Lyanna had already shamed the Starks and caused their destruction, he was not going to have history repeat itself with his daughter.

* * *

Marion went to her sister’s school again. Ayan was there, ready to greet her with open arms. After a long hour of talking about her ‘adventures’, she went to her sister’s _office._ A small room with barely any lightning except for the suns’ light peering through open halls and some candlelight.

“I am surprised nobody in the rebellion knows about this.”

“I wanted to tell them but everyone is busy focusing on the Empire that I didn’t think it would be wise to distract them from what is important.”

“Look at you, all serious. I am really impressed. I know I have said it before but I really am. You look like you have finally found your calling.”

“Thanks.” Jane Kyra said, smiling at her fraternal twin sister.

“Have you thought who you are going to leave this school to, after the war is over?”

“Not really. I want to oversee it. Not as its headmistress but as an overseer to make sure that the students have everything they need, while also helping Luke with his Jedi Academy. After that, who knows.”

“What do you mean, after that? I thought you and Luke were going to direct the Jedi Academy together.”

“That is the plan but …” She paused, biting her lower lip.

“But what?” Marion pressed. “What can be more important than the Jedi?”

“Well,” she scratched the back of her blond head. “I have been having some visions and they have started to worry me. Every time I tried to make sense of them, I get scared and I talked to Luke about this but he told me the same thing that my grandfather told us, dreams pass in time. And I’ve tried telling  our moth- I mean lady Mary and Vader, but they are into their own world that they don’t want to hear anything.”

“Maybe they are right. Not Vader or the lady Mary but Luke and our grandfather.” She pulled a chair and sat next to her. “Change is never easy and never quick. We will not achieve our goals in one term. There is so much we will have to do and for that we need both sun twins, just as the new republic will need me and Leia. Now more than ever thanks to so many thinking we are some kind of icons.”

“Now you know how I feel.” Jane Kyra said and both laughed.

“I will help Luke direct the Jedi Academy but I will also oversee the construction of more schools. Not just here but elsewhere. I believe in education and I always will.”

“That is good but if I were you, I would leave that responsibility to someone else.”

“But you are not me and I am not you. You are an icon to these kids because you are a true leader. And Leia is someone who inspires respect. You two have kept this going. Even after the new republic is established, you and Leia will safeguard the ideals that the rebel alliance stood for.”

“I can’t promise that. There will be many people that will be envious. My mother faced many rivals when she was confronting my grandmother, and even after they agreed to raise me, I saw many people envious of them. That will only get worse.”

“Fuck them then. You are not your adoptive parents any more than you are our parents. You are who you are and you can’t let some people bring you down. Fight fire with fire. Show them what you are made of.” Jane Kyra told her, holding her hands. “I trust you will make the right decision.”

“Thank you … sister.” She said, feeling like her sister for the first time.

* * *

One thing Marion, and Leia, once she was invited (much to the excitement of Ayan and the other pupils) to the school, saw was that Jane Kyra and the instructors emphasized about personal responsibility. “You can get away with everything if you say what you believe something you are doing is good and that may be true, but that doesn’t erase what you did. There are no excuses. One great person taught me that, but you don’t have to worry about that now. You will learn it as you will go through life.” Whenever Jane Kyra said this, she looked to Marion and Leia.

The two royal women’s resolve strengthened every time they visited the boys and girls. “We win or we fail. No second chances.” Marion told Leia and Leia agreed. “You got this?”

“You have to ask?” Leia asked, donning on her disguise. In her new voice which made her sound foreign, she said in alien language “Just make sure you don’t trip when you dance *And* sing.”

“Just wait, my voice will provide for the perfect distraction when you present Chewie to him.”

“Yeah, I have heard you sing, that is why I am saying that.”

Marion slapped her shoulder playfully. “I sing rather well. Remember I was trained by the best.”

“You earned last place when we competed against the band in the royal academy.” Leia reminded her.

“We were the only other band to compete besides the winner. We did pretty good. Grandmother Cersei thought so.”

“Your grandmother always thought you were great everything.”

“That’s because she was always right.” Marion said with a smile that was enchanting as her adoptive mother’s. Leia smiled beneath her mask. She did not have to be afraid for her half-sister. She had this covered and so did her.

 _We are coming, Han._ After five long grueling years, Han was coming back with them. Leia couldn’t be happier.

 For her debut as one of the band's backup singers, Marion chose blue and green. Blue and green were the colors her mother worse and although she couldn't wear a golden rose, she wore a golden ribbon on her wrist. _The Tyrell name lives on through me_ , she thought proudly as she and Leia walked through different entrances to Jabba's palace.


	30. Golden and Blood Red Roses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marion prepares for Leia's grand entrance in Jabba's palace, reminiscing about her formative years growing up under Margaery Tyrell's tutelage, while her real mother has a private moment with her Jedi father.

_"If you could only see the way, she loves me_  
_then maybe you would understand_  
_why I feel this way that I love_  
_and what I must do_  
_if you can only see_  
_the way her eyes beam when she says_  
_when she says 'she loves me' ..._  
_When you got your reasons_  
_and you got your lies_  
_and you got your manipulations_  
that cut me down to size ..."  
**~If You Could Only See by Tonic**

_“Are you going to invite me in?” Karsi asked, blushing when he winked at her. “Why do you always have to do that?”_

_“Do what? This?” He winked again._

_“Stop it. You are making me nervous.”_

_When they entered his chamber, it was everything she expected it would be. From what she read about Earth history, it was very Spartan in origin. There was nothing here except his swords and daggers behind glass, and his fire-arms next to it. A bed was the only thing that made it obvious it was his room._

_“Aren’t you afraid someone is going to sneak here and take these?”_

_“The only people that come here are me, my sister or Owen and now you and no offense my lady but I don’t think you can handle one of these.” He said, fully serious, moving past her to change the security password. “I change it every week. Just in case someone is stupid enough to come.”_

_“Like me?”_

_“Not like you. You are my guest and soon-to-be-my-wife so it is no longer off limits to you.” He said as a matter-of-factly. People were intimidated by him because he was always so serious that people thought he was cold, but those who worked with him knew that he was the complete opposite. He was an introvert. He didn’t like showing off, or attending his mother and grandmother’s expensive balls (though he still showed up because it was his duty as a good son), and much less make a fool of himself, chasing after ladies._

_His meeting with Karsi was accidental. The two found each other on an Imperial ball in the capital where the Emperor was absent (once again), and instead sent his second-in-command, Lord Vader. Lady Mary and Lord Tudor were there as well, showing off their son, Owen Tudor. Almost every girl was fawning over him and his friend, lord Eddard. She made a bet with her friends on who could get each of them to kiss them._  
_Where? One of them had asked her. Anywhere! She responded. So began the race. Most of her friends were pathetic in their attempts to gain the former’s attention who only had eyes for dark heads and blue eyed girls like Ned’s sister. He kissed one of her friends out of pity. Unhappy with her loss, she marched straight up to Ned and whispered something naughty in his ear hoping to get a reaction but she got nothing._  
_She followed him outside the suite and asked him what was wrong with him? Was he a droid or something? Ned’s response was one of laughter. He told her that he wasn’t interested in mingling with stupid girls. Karsi slapped him. She was not a stupid girl, she told him and she didn’t like to be humiliated in front of her friends. She belonged to one of the most prominent families in Naboo and her family was known for always getting what they wanted. So either he kissed her or she would go straight to her mother and make up some story about how he took advantage of her._  
_It was so devious and shameless, Ned liked it and he did more than kiss her, he invited her to her chambers._

_Other girls would not have lost their virginity to a boy they’d just met but other girls weren’t Karsi Anzuk. She was from Naboo where people were big on virtue, and they hated her family because they were loose with their morals. The Naberries especially, accused them of being sell-outs and corrupting the planet’s good name. Once they found out about her pregnancy, they threatened to expose them but one good come-back from her daddy, silenced them. He then arranged a meeting with Ned’s parents to solve this little ‘inconvenience’ by agreeing to a betrothal._

_Her friends were so jealous. She was going to marry one of the handsomest men in the Empire. And one of the rising stars -she reminded them. Nothing could get better than this.  
‘Except being invited to his private chambers aboard the Star Destroyer where Vader is also at’. To add more fuel to the fire, she had enlisted in the army. She had good test scores and she knew a lot about astronomy to get her a desk job. Add her family connections and you get Vader’s new secretary. It wasn’t something that her future husband approved, or her parents. They thought that Vader would be too hard on her and urged her to tell him about her condition but she said ‘no’ repeatedly to all of them. She was going to tell him when the time was right. She was not going to let her pregnancy ruin the Empire’s greatest victory against the rebels._

_Sitting down on his bed, she told him to put her hand on her belly and feel the baby kick._

_“You are two months pregnant, I am not going to feel anything.” He said but she pressed on._

_“I promise it will only be once and then you can return to your boring task.”_

_“When you are serving Vader you will get to do something similar.”_

_“You sound boring even when you speak. Just touch my stomach and tell me you don’t feel anything.”_

_To his surprise he did._

_“How is this possible?”_

_“Do not tell anyone but my mother is half-Twi’lek.”_

_‘Now it makes sense.’ Her mother had a habit of cloaking her head in long scarfs where only her face was visible. It was an ancient tradition that nobody followed on Naboo except for a few._

_“It is an ingenious way of covering her head tails.”_

_“I know right? Though hers are small like those of a Togruta teenager and she does have hair which is why it was easier for her to use that awful head-scarf.”_

_“You are more full of surprises than I would have guessed. What else are you hiding? Is our baby going to be born with a tail?” He asked, amused._

_“You’re Targaryen ancestors claimed to have descended from dragons so who knows, he might be born with red scales and a long spiky tail.”_

_He rolled his eyes._

_“I am kidding. Though that would be a sight wouldn’t it?”_

_“Yes, it would. “ He said, remembering the tale of the mother of dragons whose stillborn had black dragon scales and a reptilian tale. The last person who knew her claimed it was true, but his father told Ned that old men always exaggerated things to scare their enemies and turn their late friends into larger than life figures._

_“You should tell Lord Vader of your condition. I am serious about this Karsi.”_

_“I know you are, you are always serious.” She said with a giggle, kissing his cheek. “You don’t have to worry about me, I will be safe aboard the death star and Lord Vader won’t be worse than other officers.”_

_“He will. Nobody has disobeyed him and lived to tell the tale. One mistake is all it takes.”_

_“I won’t make one. Besides, I am just his secretary so there is nothing to be worried about and my parents are making a surprise visit.”_

_“They should be on Naboo where they will be safe.”_

_“Ned, you are no fun. They want to be here for the Empire’s greatest moment. You should be too. Oh that’s right, you can’t because you have to go back to your dear sister so she doesn’t suspect. Why do you have to watch out for her? She is a good warrior and old enough to lead her own platoon.”_

_“It is not her I am worried about.” Ned said, thinking about Owen and his mission with other squad leaders. His best friend was committed to prove himself as the rest of them, but he wasn’t a leader. His arrogance always got him in trouble with the older officers and whenever he ran into danger, it was up to him to get him out of it._

_‘That is all I am.’ He thought. He never complained. Lya and Owen were more than his sister and best friend, they were his family, and although they were too blind to see it, he was always there for them._

_“You should be with me. Imagine, you and me, and my parents. It will make for a nice family photo we can show our son ten years from now. We were there at the empire’s greatest day.”_

_‘She is so innocent.’ And that is why he loved her. Not in the way Lya loved Owen, but that kind of love was something that didn’t matter to Ned. ‘True love will come in time.’ He would provide her and their child  with everything and after this war was over they would settle down and watch their offspring grow._

_His father said he would make a good father but at times, Ned doubted that. He was only sixteen. He didn’t know a thing about parenting, except for what he’d seen in his parents. He didn’t want his child to grow up feeling like he had to prove something, or fear for his friends’ lives.  
‘Things happen for a reason.’ Karsi was an airhead, but she had a good heart and he could tell how much this meant for her. ‘She will make a good mother.’ And even if Ned wasn’t there in the first years of this child’s life, he would be there in his formative years, making sure it knew it was loved by both his parents._

* * *

The dream ended and Ned woke up. Bess asked him if he had dreamt of his betrothed again. Ned nodded.

“What was she like?”

“Ask the Naberries. They will tell you. Don’t expect them to tell you the full story though.” He told her.

“I am asking you.”

Seeing that she was not going to drop the subject, he recounted his dream, which was really a memory of the last time they had seen each other before he flew back to his sister.

“She really loved you.”

“No, she didn’t. She loved the idea of marriage as much as I loved the idea of doing right where my parents had done me and my sister wrong.”

“How do you know? Maybe she did love you. We should hold a candlelight vigil for her and say a prayer.”

He smirked at that. “What good will that do? It won’t bring her back from the death. You can’t honor the dead Elizabeth. That is the point of being dead. You die, there is nothing more.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“Then do as you please. It won’t change a thing. She is dead. Nothing is going to change that.”

Ned’s outlook on things had changed considerably since her death. His sister hadn’t noticed until Owen came back to her. Ned was no longer the wise-cracking jokester the two of them knew, he was serious, calm and hardly speaking unless they pressed him. After Ned left, Bess visited Lya and asked her about her brother.  
Lya wasn’t happy to talk with one of the former earth queens’ daughters, but she found that like the lady Mary, she wasn’t all that bad and didn’t see Lya as a lesser form than her.

“When I was five, my brother asked me if we were going to go trekking the galaxy together, fighting rebels and making our parents proud. I said yes. Our lady mother and lady grandmother treated us differently. Ned was their heir, I was the lady but we never got used to those roles. I didn’t know that he was betrothed. Owen and I were sneaking behind my parents’ back that we didn’t bother to ask what Ned was doing. We thought he was  helping my father or something. After the destruction of the death star, we didn’t bother to ask, we were sad too. People we knew were there. People we had trained with and we helped get to their positions. One of them was a boy who came from the lowest sectors of his planet, and we thought that given Ned’s friendship with him, that is why he had changed. If I had known, I would have never taken our friendship for granted.”

“Nobody could have known. He didn’t tell anybody.” Bess stated. “Your parents knew but they didn’t do anything.”

“Our parents are not like yours, honey.” Lya quickly said, knowing where Bess was going and she was not in the mood to hear it. “My father raised us to be warrior. I was the only connection he had to his mother and his beloved cousin, my aunt Arya, and Ned was a boy so he had to be a leader like our Stark and Targaryen ancestors. There was no time for grief. Another girl would come and have his babies.”

It was a grim outlook but not so different from the one her mother had faced when she had been Queen of England, or Bess when she had been her father’s jewel.

“They must have felt something.”

“Like I said, honey. There is no time for grief. In your rebellion if someone gets sentimental with the likes of us, they get blasted or captured, same with us. If Ned had given into his grief, or our parents expressed any affection, it would have made him weak.” Lya picked her favorite dagger and put it on its sheath next to her blaster.

“Where are you going?”

“I can’t stay cooped up in Owen’s bedroom forever and the ice between Ned and I is too thin right now, so I am going to the training room, see how many of your fighters I can take. Don’t worry Princess, I won’t kill them but I won’t play nice either.”

Bess didn’t say anything. They’d probably benefit from some dueling with Lyanna. As far as she knew, from what Ned had told her, she was one of the Empire’s best fighters.

* * *

Marion raised her voice at the signal of the drums. The band leader told her she was doing great and substituted their lead singer for her. Marion raised her arms and asked the crowd if they wanted more. Everyone cheered and Jabba in his native language, asked her for more as well.

One song that she remembered from her childhood, which she changed some of the letter and given it to the band during rehearsal, was played. It was the national anthem of Highgarden. As national as you can get when you were subservient to the Lord Protector of the Realm.

 _“If you could only see the way she loves me_  
_maybe you’d understand_  
_why I feel this way_  
_and why I must do what I must do_  
_if you could only see how her eyes take mine_  
_by surprise when she says_  
_‘she loves me.’_  
_The rose that grows on the brightest hill_  
_is the greatest survivor_  
_never underestimate its roots_  
_they stretch beyond what you can count_  
  
_if you can only see the way she loves me_  
_you’d understand what I must do_  
_if you can only see her eyes_  
_when she says_  
_‘she loves me’_  
  
_I show her the rose and I give her_  
_a surprise wrapped in gold_  
_it’s the trophy_  
_the worthy obtain_  
_growing as strong_  
_more resistant than metal_  
  
_that is the magic of the rose …”_

She moved her hand like a snake, the way her mother had taught her.

**~o~**

_“To lure someone you have to enchant him.” Margaery told her daughter. Marion was nervous, she tried several movements but she cried every time she got it wrong._

_“Not like that child, you look like a rag doll doing that.” Lady Olenna told her granddaughter._

_Her other lady grandmother intervened and whispered something in her that made her giggle. Margaery asked her mother-in-law what she said. “I taught her a little trick.” She said, beaming with pride when Marion did as she told her._

_Margaery clapped her hands for her and told her sit on her knee. Marion did not have to ask how she did. Her mother’s face provided her with the answer. The next day she put a crown of roses on top of her head. Roses were very rare to find on Alderaan, and they were mostly home grown by earth refugees._  
_“Whenever you dance, you must wear these.” She told her._  
_“But the kids will laugh at me.” Roses were considered ugly. Margaery took a rose pin and put it on her dress._  
_“Then let them laugh, they won’t be laughing once they see you for the princess you are.”_

_“But I am not a royal like Leia.” She told her and her mother simply smiled. Her eyes were veiled in secrecy. She kissed her daughter’s forehead and told her to focus on the task ahead. She was her daughter, the rose of Highgarden and as such, everyone would fall in love with her after she danced for them._

**~o~**

**Marion** was brought to the present. Jabba roared in approval and asked for another song. Marion told the band leader to change the tune to the other song they had practiced. This one was the rains of Castamere. A popular one in Jabba’s palace since it reminded his goons what would happen to them if they crossed them.

“And who are you, the proud lord said that I must bow so low …”

After she finished, she and the band were substituted by newcomers which included two Twi’lek dancers whose necks were chained and held in place by Jabba the Hutt who looked at them with lusty eyes.

Disgusting. Marion bowed that when this is over, she was going to murder that fat slug.

* * *

Mary felt the child in her belly kick. It was getting hard for Anakin to pretend in front of the rebels that he was okay with the rules they had imposed on them. For her sake, he kept his mouth silent but Mary could see the toll it was taking on him.

Will he accept my child? He said he would but would he, really? Her mother said that a woman's heart was a mystery, but her mother never had experience dealing with a Skywalker. Theirs hearts were a true mystery and she feared how he'd react if the child took after his father physically.

Her mother barely saw her. She and Anakin were always together. He didn't want to leave her side, even when it was just for a simple walk of fresh air. He knew how much the youths here hated her and he feared what one of them would do if it got through their heads that they could take the former Inquisitor and Eighth Sister down.

Today was one of those days. "I will be fine."

"Are you sure? I can accompany you to the mess hall if you need to stretch your legs."

"It's not necessary Anakin, I can look after myself."

"That is not what I meant. A lot of the people here are untrained and reckless. They are waiting for the right moment when you lower your guard."

"Then they will have to keep waiting." Mary said and left their room. She ignored the stares and smirks she got from some of the people outside the base, as she strolled the gardens of Yavin IV. "It's a nice planet." She said to herself and then to the child within her. 

It had been five months since they arrived and she already felt as large as a whale. She wondered if this is how her mother felt when she was carrying her. Some of her ladies who were charged with serving Mary when she was moved to Ludlow Castle in the Welsh Marches, whispered among themselves that it was a hard labor.

 _Maybe this is what will happen to me as well._ Except that she would die instead of enduring. _Heavens knows that I am tired of enduring._

She sat in one of the benches and looked at the stars. On earth, you couldn't appreciate the heavens like you did here.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" She nodded at her father who sported the same dark brown cloak and light brown robes underneath. "May I sit?"

She nodded again.

"I was told by your husband that you'd be here. He said that you loved doing this while you were on Hudson, back on Earth."

"Yes, I did. It is much peaceful here." She said, her eyes still staring at the starry sky. A shooting star appeared and she closed her eyes, making a wish like she and Bess did when they were young. When she opened her eyes, she was back at the same spot, the kicks of her child reminding her of her dire situation.

She squeezed her fists.

Obi Wan clutched one of her hands. "I know how you feel."

"All right."

"You do not have to do this alone. When the child is born, if this is over, you and Anakin can go to the unexplored territories outside of the galaxy and live the rest of your days there."

"I always dreamed of being a mother, having children, sitting on the English throne. I would fantasize about the people before me, beaming with pride, declaring me their queen on earth as on heaven like the virgin but those dreams turned to ash when I found out who I was."

"You mustn't blame your mother, Mary. She lied to protect you. If Henry or anyone else had found out that you were my daughter, they would have killed you and your mother on the spot."

"I am not blaming you, I am blaming myself."

"You? Why?"

"All I ever wanted was to be Queen. It was why I was born, mama said. 'You are going to be Queen someday mi amor, you must prepare yourself for that day'. So I studied and devoured every book that I could find. Then one day mama came, she was crying. She grabbed my hand and took me to a room where she presented me to this man I had never seen before in my life."

"Cromwell." Obi Wan guessed. Mary nodded.

"His name is Cromwell, he makes all the laws now. You have to obey him or else you will be without your head."

Obi Wan knew how blunt Catherine could be at times. It was why they quarreled. Catherine had a way of doing things that he never agreed with on. Obi Wan in being patient, whereas Catherine loved being using her wit to humiliate others to get them to do her bidding.

It was the one thing that Mary didn't possess. In her adoptive country, Catherine had been hailed as her mother's daughter, the true daughter of Isabella of Castile who had inherited her strong character, but to those who knew her best, it was her father she resembled more. By using her smile, even when she didn't feel like smiling, her elegant manners and her clever wit, she won the hearts of many, including her enemies who couldn't help but admire Henry's first queen.

Mary wasn't like that. She was headstrong, jealous and dependent on others like he'd been when he was young. She never grew out of it, and even now, she still believed she owed people something and carried the weight of the galaxy on her shoulders.

"I told mama 'I don't want to be here. I feel sick' but she didn't listen. She told me 'be silent.' Then, after he left, she ordered me to write to that boy, Tommen. I didn't want to marry him and tried to dissuade the King not to listen to mama but even Cromwell thought that was a good idea. 'Anything to get her far away as possible.' I prayed day and night so god would deliver me from that dreaded union. When Cersei came and inspected me like I was some kind of horse, I told her 'I don't want to marry your son.' King Henry was so mad, I thought he was going to slap me. Anakin was there as well, his hand was moving closer to his lightsaber. I gave him a look that said 'do it,' 'do it', 'free me', but then the most awful thing occurred. Queen Cersei laughed. She laughed at me like my opinion didn't matter and asked my parents if she could speak with me in private. I mouthed a small 'no' to mama but she nodded before my father said 'yes' and we went to my room." A tear fell down her cheek. She turned to her father. "She said 'is that Jedi you are after? You are never going to capture his heart and I know all about men's hearts? They are good to play with, and he will probably make you very happy the first time you take him to bed but then he will leave you.' She actually dared to say that to me. That incestuous whore! I told her I would tell my lady mother what she said and she laughed at me, wrung her heads in the air and dared me to. 'Don't you know, Your Highness, it is your mother who has been begging for this alliance because it saves you from being a bastard forever and it saves me from having to deal with the Starks and more rebel leaders.' I shook my head and begged her to look elsewhere. I blurted that I loved Anakin and I was going to marry him someday and she laughed harder. 'You little fool. I was once like you. I thought that the whole world would be at my feet. I was told that I would marry the king and be Queen but look at me now. Do you see think I am happy? We are women dear, we are not meant to be happy. Do as you are told like your mother and I, and countless others have done.' But I told her I would never love her son and she told me that didn't matter to her. 'You will never love him but you will love his children. After that you can fuck the Jedi Knight as much as you'd like. I don't care.' And she left. I told my lady mother everything and just as Cersei warned me, she didn't do a thing."

More tears strolled down her cheeks.

Obi Wan took out a piece of cloth and wiped them. "I just wanted to be happy. Anakin promised me everything. I thought that with the chosen one by my side, no one would mock me anymore and I loved him and I still do."

"What's wrong with me?" She asked.

"Nothing. Nothing is wrong with you. You are a good person Mary but you and Anakin have done terrible things and those kind of things can't go unpunished, they can be forgiven but not forgotten."

"So you are going to let us die?"

"No. I made a promise that I will protect you and Anakin until my dying breath and I am going to keep that promise but that doesn't mean that you won't be paying for your ... sins" He said, using the term that would make a bigger impact on her, "for the rest of your lives. And I say this not to torment you but as a way for you to reflect on your past choices and teach this babe a better way."

"Look at Owen," he tips her chin, her tears all dried up now. "A finer gentleman couldn't be found. You will be a good mother to this child Mary, but it will take time and it won't be easy. Anakin knows this and that is why he fears for your safety."

"It is suffocating at times. He doesn't let me go for a cup of tea without giving me a long sermon of what a reckless youth could do." She said, using his words from an hour earlier.

"He loves you and love makes people say and do crazy things."

"Like you and my mother?"

"Like me and your mother." He agreed, remembering the first time he saw Catherine. It was like he had been struck by Cupid's arrow. That mythological being from ancient Rome which she recited in her poems.

"Arthur won't stop until he has me back. He is going to use me as bait to get mama. I know because the last time he ..." she paused, pushing the mental images of their forced copulation away. "...was with me..." she managed "he vowed to get my mother back, regardless of what happened to me." She moved her hand to her belly again. "She will kill this child if it means getting her back."

"That will not happen. I promise." Obi Wan said and Mary looked into his eyes, and could see that he meant every word. Her father was going to protect her and Anakin. As long as he lived, they had nothing to fear.

* * *

_Sitting down, she took out the Seven Pointed Star and asked her lady mother what should she sing for their guests? Princess Leia and her ladies were here, including Winter, whom she could not wait to show off the new dances she had learned from her lady mother and lady grandmother._

_Margaery smiled, touching her daughter's cheek tenderly. "Why not sing The Golden Rose?"_

_Marion nodded and told the musicians to play it. When the music began, she moved her body slowly, first her hips then her arms, then she opened her mouth and sang._

_"This rose has the spirit of the gentle mother, of the father of the skies_  
_they watch over us, and over us all_  
_Oh Gentle mother won't you see how much she loves me_  
_your daughter the maiden, and your son the Smith_  
_protect us over all evils cast,_  
_have the Stranger bring his mantle over our enemies_  
_and while our roots grow strong_  
_for the rose is the gift from above ..."_

_When she finished, Margaery rose from her seat and cried "Glory to Highgarden" which made everyone, including Princess Leia and Winter, laugh heartily._

_Marion sighed. She loved dancing. She was a better dancer than a singer, but everyone treated her like a delicate rose. She wasn't, she was strong as the motto from her mother's house. 'But this is what people want of me.' And like every woman in her family, she meant to use what talents she had to impress others._

_"You performed marvelously, Marion. But remember, always smile. Your smile can move mountains." Margaery told her that night when she put her to bed, after reading her favorite story, the tale of how her House came to rule Highgarden._

_"But I am not a smiling person. I don't like smiling too much. I am not like Leia and you remember how Lord Vader walked past me, like I was a nobody and he is right. I don't even know who my real parents are. You and grandmother Cersei and grandmother Olenna don't want to tell me."_

_"You are not a nobody. Lord Vader is a crude man who is the Emperor's lackey, you are the rose of Highgarden and the golden lioness. It is a powerful combination that you will only appreciate if you start acting like the great lady you are." She tipped her chin and raised it so their eyes met. Blue against lighter blue. "It doesn't matter who your parents were. You are the daughter of House Tyrell and House Lannister and it is ancestry greater than any other. Trust me. Blood doesn't count for anything. You are my daughter and I love you and that is all that matters. One day, you will see how important you are."_

_Marion didn't question her mother anymore. She went to sleep, dreaming of fire and ice dragons, knights, maidens and queens. 'Someday' she told herself 'I will have an adventure like the ones my lady mother tells me from the age of heroes in Westeros'._

**~o~**

Little did Marion knew that those days would come sooner than anyone could have predicted. When she matured into a teenager, everyone sought her out. Her grandmother had to use her tartness to shoo the boys from their house, while her other grandmother, Cersei Lannister, used her subtle threats to scare them off.

She was never interested in boys. It took her second grandmother a long while to accept her sexuality and when she finally did, she gave her advice on what styles of dress to use, and how to entice girls to get them to do her bidding.

Marion's first sexual encounter was Winter. She was a girl who complained about everything but Leia loved being around her so Marion put up with her. It was during one of their balls that Winter confessed she felt attracted to her but was scared of asking her out because she thought Marion was intimidating. Without warning Marion kissed her and told her not to be afraid. _"I don't bite"_

Winter’s cheeks turned red. She didn’t know what to make of this and so Marion guided her, telling her to let go. When they took off their clothes, Winter asked what would come next. _“Do you start or I start?”_

_“Wait and see.” Marion said, glancing to around to make sure no one would come. Her mother and Prince and Senator, Bail Organa were busy talking, while Leia was having fun flirting with some of the boys and turning their offer to take her back to the palace, down. “Coast is clear. I get to start.”_

_Marion was not an expert at this either, but her confidence took the unease off Winter. When she told Winter to lay her down, Winter put her arm on her chest, pushing her lightly down._  
_The following morning, Winter asked her if she would go with her to meet her parents. Marion told her she’d be delighted but their relationship was cut short after Marion felt bored with her._  
_Was she bad for dumping Winter? Wasn’t your first experience supposed to be with the person you fell in love with? Her lady mother told her it was alright to love one person and then love another._  
_“Love is complicated. You can love more than one person as you can love all of your friends. There are many flowers, some more special than others and you are a rose, the rarest kind. Until you marry, you can have as much as fun as you’d like, just as long as your partner is aware that you don’t mean something serious._

Her lady mother was right. Winter and her remained friends. When Alderaan was blown up, it wasn’t only her lady mother and ladies grandmothers that she mourned but Winter as well.

Any time now Leia would come disguised as a bounty hunter, making her grand entrance with Chewbacca and Marion would come out, pretending to be shocked. Before that time comes, she thought, I want to look at this. The golden rose pin her lady mother gave her. She couldn't wear it here, so she hid it in one of her pockets. 

 _Not to mention the Sun Twins_ , she then thought as she walked to Jabba's throne room. She couldn't wait to see what her twin sister and Luke had in store for that fat slug.


	31. Growing Strong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As royals are faced with their greatest challenge (yet), Marion reflects on her great mother, Margaery Tyrell and the lessons she taught her, and rather than cry, she looks forward, growing strong. (Part of the dialogue, is taken from the novelization of Return of the Jedi, though I have changed some of the dialogue.)  
> Song for this chapter: Lion's Roar by First Aid Kit.

_"Now the pale morning sings_  
_a forgotten face_  
_she plays the tune for those_  
_who wish to overlook_  
_the fact that they've been blindly deceived_  
_by those who preach, and pray and teach_  
_but she falls short in the night and explodes in laughter_  
_don't you come here and say_  
_'I didn't warn you_  
_about the way your world can alter'_  
_and though how you try and command_  
_every time it shits one way or another_

 _And I am a goddamn coward but then again so are you_  
_and the lions roar, the lions roar_  
_as we abbatted and howl in for you_  
_and I never really knew what to do_

 _Now I guess sometimes I wish_  
_you were more predictable_  
_that I could read you just like a book_  
_for now I can only guess what's coming next_  
_like your timid smile ..._

 _And I am a goddamn fool but then again so are you_  
and the lions roar, the lions roar  
_as it signals me to search for you_  
_and I never really knew what to do_

_Sometimes I wish I could find my rosemary hill  
sit there and look at the desert blades and not sigh_

_And every one in a while I sing a song for you_  
_that you will rise above the mountains, the stars and the sea_  
_and if I wanted to, it would lead you back ... perhaps to me_  
_and the lions roar, the lions roar_  
_is something that I have heard before_  
_a children's tale about long ago_  
_I have a lion's roar."_  
**~Lion's Roar by First Aid Kit**

_“There is no known version that commits the reader to trust Vader’s words. Every version of his speech, spoken minutes before he and the other TIE Fighters boarded their ships to defend the first Death Star from Rebel attacks, speaks of a tyrant who threatened his men with unspeakable horrors should they fail in their task to protect the Imperial super-weapon. If we are to trust my colleague, the writer of the “Annals …”, Vader was no different than his master. But to those who knew him, he was. He never threatened anyone, unless he felt he had to. His words were “not something that made us tremble, unless you were of weak stock” and even then, they assured me, no one would take them for granted. “Rather, he was a man whom my men respected and pushed us to the edge of our limits. Very much like Thrawn, only different. I can’t explain it to you, you had to be there.” Possibly lord Vader was a tyrant as The Annals assure, possibly not. Possibly, he was somewhere in between …”  
**~Chronicles of a Lost Galaxy by Rickard “the Builder” Tudor-TarStark**_

Outside the small adobe hut, the sandstorm wailed like a beast in agony, refusing to die. Inside, the sounds were muted. This is where my grandfather lived. She and Luke had been in his hut (once). They didn’t have any notion of how he had lasted this long under these conditions. Especially grandmother. Her grandmother was born a Princess, daughter of the most infamous Kings in Europe, back on Earth, and Consort to the last English King.

It was cooler this time around. It was as if she and Luke had entered another realm. Luke’s hands gripped the handle of his new lightsaber.

“What is it?” He pointed to her grandparents’ bedroom. Jane Kyra saw it too. Not waiting for Luke to give the signal, she took out her lightsaber and ignited and called out to whatever was hiding there, to show itself.

“We know you are there. You are no match for two well-trained Jedi, believe me.” She warned. “Do not make any sudden moves.” She added when the shadow turned, heading to them.

Luke ignited his lightsaber and following his sister, the two slowly approached the figure. Much to their surprise, it wasn’t human or alive.

Luke’s eyes widened, having seen the dead woman before from the Imperial archives he and his platoon had stolen from Chandrila. “Lady Kinvara. Flame of Truth, High Priestess of the High Temple of Volantis.” Luke said, leaving out her less important titles.

“And of Asshai, young Skywalker.” Kinvara said. The jewel in her necklace shined bright red, like the one the Sun Twins had seen on Lady Melisandre from the holo-news. “Are you going to cut me down or do I have to show you proof that I am a ghost?”

“For now, we will take your word for it.” Jane Kyra said, nodding to Luke. The two put their lightsabers back in their belts. “What is your business here? Shouldn’t you have approached the Lady Melisandre or her master, Lord Targaryen?”

“That would have seemed like the logical choice, wouldn’t it? But the Lady Melisandre has longed abandoned logic when she chose fortune over glory.”

“We do not have time for your riddles.”

“Ah, the eldest of the Skywalker offspring. You are your father’s clone through and through but there is much more of your mother in you, and lady Jane Kyra Skywalker, the eldest of your mother’s offspring. Also strong in the Force, the answer to fate’s question if Anakin had been born a woman. Your soul is his mother’s though.” She sighed. Clasping her hands together, showing the same grace as when she was alive, she went straight to the point, “The Force is strong with you both. Your birth was something unprecedented and the reason of the Jedi’s destruction and the rise of the Sith, yet even in the darkness, there is light and light will shine in both of your bloodlines.”

“Get to the point.” Luke pressed.

“Your mothers were enemies and you were raised as twins. The prophecy that the Jedi consulted when Master Qui Gon worked hard to convince the Council that he was the chosen one, is not the only one. Anakin Skywalker is the chosen one, but there is more than one the prophecy, and many others refer to. The true one that was promised has not been born yet. Many civilizations, alien and human alike, have experimented with different bloodlines in an effort to bring about its creation.” She paused. What she had learned in death, was something that mortal ears should never hear. But given the circumstances, the two Skywalkers needed to hear it before it was too late. “Your father was just one of many trials.”

Luke and Jane Kyra looked at each other before looking at the red priestess again. “Explain.” Luke ordered.

“After the age of heroes, when other civilizations on Earth were beginning to prosper, the old Republic sent its best agents. They were after the Sith and other alien cults who were illegally kidnapping humans and experimenting with them.”

“Genetic manipulation.” Luke said.

Kinvara nodded. “Most of these experiments failed. The hybrids did not live long enough and they were unable to master the Force. Eventually the project was abandoned until Darth Plagueis. He saw potential in several bloodlines who were the descendants of these failed experiments, and by finding lost texts that his predecessors had left behind, he used his knowledge to manipulate the midi-chlorians in unborn fetuses. One of these was your grandmother’s.”

Kinvara smiled at Jane Kyra’s shocked expression. “It came to a surprise to me as well. Didn’t you ever wonder why she had so many miscarriages?”

“But that is impossible. The reason my grandmother couldn’t give her husband a son was because he had a genetic disease, that is why she had no problems with my mother.”

“You are wrong. The King was born fine. They made sure that all of his offspring died young and his wives suffered miscarriages, long enough for the Sith to come out of the shadows and take over the Republic.” Kinvara said. “Eventually, Plagueis discovered he had made a mistake. One of my most eloquent priests, had gotten ahead of me and produced a child that the Jedi had found and trained. That priest and priestess are your master’s parents, your grandparents, lady Jane.  
Your mother was supposed to be Henry VIII’s daughter, when she was born it was too late.”

It all made sense to them now. They had been told that the Lady Mary was incarnation of the dark spirit, known as the river goddess Melusina.

Guessing what was going through their minds, Kinvara touched on that subject. “The plan was to have the lady Mary as her father’s successor. As the river goddess turned human, people of the pagan faith, who still lingered in some parts in Europe, would look on her as their savior and worship her. He followed your mother’s progress until he was murdered by his apprentice. Before he was, he had made a breakthrough.” She paused, locking her green eyes with the two Skywalker light blue ones. “He had learned how to manipulate the midi-chlorians to create life.”

“He manipulated our father’s fetus.” Luke guessed and he was almost half-correct, Kinvara told him.

“Plagueis did more than manipulate your grandmother’s unborn son, he used the technology from his predecessors and his mastery of the Force to impregnate her. That is how your father came to be. A miracle of the Sith. The Sith’s very own creation.”

Luke shook his head. “No, that is not true. I refuse to believe it.”

“Refuse all you like. It is the truth. Your father is the darkness turned to flesh.” She said raising her arms as if celebrating something glorious. “The Jedi thought he was their chosen one, and he is the chosen one. Just not theirs.”

Luke continued to denied it. He took his sister’s hand and told her they should go. Jane Kyra followed Luke, but looked behind her at the smiling ghost of the former High Priestess of Ashai. Her words stayed with her. _“Darkness turned to flesh.”_

* * *

Lya rolled her eyes at the lady Elizabeth. Despite what her brother said, she still held a candlelight vigil. **_“In honor of the fallen.”_** She said. _And no doubt when the Sun Twins come they will approve._ Lya thought. She did not mind Jane Kyra Skywalker or Kyra, or Jane, or whatever the hell she called herself now. She understood what it was to talk to dead people, but unlike the little Jedi, Lya didn’t show off her abilities. Luke Skywalker was another story entirely. _Every time he goes on about how we should all be good and the Force is our ally_. Lya thought she was going to throw up.

She could tolerate the whole Christian bullshit about loving your enemy and what not, but forgive and forget? No, thank you.

 _Seven hells._ She took off her tiara. Her future mother-in-law would think she looked ridiculous. Lya thought she looked ridiculous. When she knocked on her metal door, she was not surprised to hear her laughing. People thought that the lady Mary never laughed, but Lya had seen her laugh on several occasions. This was one of those times. What she wasn’t prepared was hearing Darth Vader’s laughter.

 **That** was unusual.

 _Maybe I should visit another time_. One that didn’t involve the two, doing whatever the hell they were doing. And she had a good idea what that was, given it was the same behavior she and Owen displayed when they were alone. But she was too late. The door opened and a half dressed lady Mary appeared with lord Vader not far behind. Thankfully, he was fully dressed, but lipstick was smeared all over his grey collar.  
If this wasn’t a dire situation, she would have taken out her com link where she had installed a new device and taken a picture and shown it to Owen (and her brother, in the hopes that she’d get a laugh out of him). _Maybe for another time._ It wasn’t like he was heading anywhere any time soon. And if the rebellion won, she could make a lot of money with something like that.

“Mary, I wanted to talk with you about something but I I see that you are busy" Lya said looking at Anakin "so I will come back later.”

“You can talk to me right now, Anakin was just leaving. Right, Anakin?” Anakin nodded, grinning at her before he made his way out. “What is it you want to talk to me about?”

Always so gracious, even when she was a virtual prisoner, Lya was grateful to be in this woman’s presence again. “You and I haven’t had the opportunity to speak since your arrival. I am glad that Owen and you are back together again. He really missed you by what Bess told me weeks ago. He really loves you and I am glad that your brother is here. He is a fine gentleman as Owen.”

“About that.” Lya said, sitting down on the couch, waiting for her to sit besides her. Once she did, Lya spoke again, “Owen and I want to get married.”

The lady Mary was surprised. “So soon? You’ve only been here for some weeks. Did my son put you up to this? Is this because of what Eddard said to you two? He really didn’t mean it. I am sure once he is out of his stupor, things will go back to normal-“

“It is not about Ned, Mary, and to be honest with you, I don’t think anything Owen and I do or don’t do will make things better.” The lady Mary’s eyes were downcast.

“He loves you. If I had known what he went through, I would have never allowed Owen to stay in Cloud City.”

“Owen would not have listened. You know him, he would have his own way regardless of what you said.”

That was true. Her son was his own man, as much as it pained Mary to admit it. Fully grown up. All this time she had smothered him, she had never realized how independent he was _. And he could have been more if I didn’t pamper him._ On that, Arthur had been right.

“This is about me and Owen. We want to become man and wife. We are tired of hiding our love from everyone, including my parents, we want to be happy just like you and Anakin.”

“My dear, my relationship with Anakin is not something you should look up to.”

“You know what I mean. You love him. You always have and I know about your escape.”

Mary smiled sadly. “Owen told you.”

“No, it was his half-sister, your daughter before she left for Tatooine to rescue Solo. Mary,, I don’t blame you for wanting to escape but I would love you to stay here.”

“I would love to stay too but I have done a lot of terrible things. The rebels will never forget that,, and Anakin was second in command for many years, he will be the first one they try.”

“But it shouldn’t be that way. I can help you. Owen and I can hide you. There are many ways we can. My aunt was a faceless assassin and before I left I took some of the faces that my father took from her before he killed her. You can use one of those.” But Mary shook her head. “Please, Owen needs you and I need you too.”

“You do not need me. You have each other. And I know that after I am gone, he will be in good hands.” She held Lya’s hands and squeezed them gently. “You have my blessing.”

“Thank you, but I hope you reconsider.” Lya said and Mary promised she would but they both knew her mind was made up.

When the wedding was held, she wore a plain grey dress and a veil that Bess and Mary Stuart had sewed for her. She would have loved to have something that belonged to her mother-in-law, but she realized she couldn’t ask for more when being present was enough. Lord Vader, or Anakin Skywalker as he preferred to be called now, was there as well.

Owen was happy to see his mother smile. Although he was sad that she and Anakin were planning on leaving after the galactic war was over, he was going to make this moments count. Ned’s words still haunted him. It pained him to admit that his friend was right.

He had been selfish. He had never thought about his mother and what she had endured at the hands of his father. _When I did, I always thought that they would make up. In the back of my mind, I never wanted to admit to myself that my father was a monster and my mother had done many things._  
The first time he heard about his mother being forced to lie with him against her will, and seen the pictures of her humiliation in the holo-tabloid, he dismissed them as nothing more than rebel propaganda to turn him against the Empire. But when Ned said what he did, and he visited his mother, he realized it was all true.  
His mother did not want to talk about it, and he didn’t insist. But through their connection in the Force, and techniques he had learned through Obi Wan Kenobi, he had caught a glimpse of her memories.

He vowed to the gods, the old and the new, and the Force, that when his sibling was born, he was going to be there for him and his mother.   
  
It brought him joy to see his mother next to the man he loved.  
Whenever he and Lyanna talked in secret and Lord Vader caught them, he always thought the man was old fashioned, or envious, sending him to petty expeditions, keeping him away from his beloved. But he was just protecting him.  
It wasn’t his happiness that had upset him, it was that he saw himself in Owen, and remembered how he was young once, hopeful and full of dreams. _And how much he loved my mother_.

He wore a brown jacket, black leather pants that Ned had let him borrow, and a white chemise underneath. His mother had teased how handsome he looked. _“Like a Prince.”_ She’d said. He blushed. His mother always thought the world of him.  
 _I am not going to disappoint her this time. I am going to live up to her expectations and be a good husband, a good father and a good brother._ Everything she never had.

“You may kiss the bride.” Captain Wedge Antille said, smiling at the former Imperial youths.

Owen leaned down and kissed his bride (no -he corrected himself- my wife’s) lips.

Ned, standing next to the couple's guest of honor, lady Elizabeth, couldn't help but smile a bit. In spite of their quarrel, he felt happy for them and wished them the best.

* * *

Jane Kyra lowered her hood. She did not wish to hide her face the way Luke did. This plan was going to work. She was sure of it. Jabba was arrogant, and knowing the people he mingled with, they would betray him for the right price. Even if they do not, they will flee once they see the power of the Jedi.

Following her brother, she looked up the twin suns. Her brother hated this planet. So did she, but she never voiced it since their aunt and uncle’s death. This planet housed many horrors, but many good things as well. Most of the people who lived here were farmers, eager to make an honest living. It was limited opportunity that drove many of them to crime.

Jane Kyra was going to change that. Her school for starters would expand once this was over. And if the new republic had people like her half-sister, Leia, and twin, Marion, leading it, there would be many more reforms to come.

As she thought of the bright future that lay ahead, she partially forgot about Kinvara’s revelation about their father and her dark visions.

* * *

Marion hated failure. After Leia had awakened Han from carbonite freezing, she joined her. Leia could barely contain her laughter when she looked at her sister. She was dressed in blue and green, with gold ribbon wrist bands, and her hair was neatly arranged, and she had glitter on it.

**~o~**

  
_“Shut up.” She told Leia, not wishing to hear how ‘pretty’ she was. After they escaped -hopefully before Luke and Jane Kyra showed up for the droids- she could take as much pictures of her as she wanted. Han bit his lip after Leia told him what she looked._  
_“Nice to see you too, Han.” Marion said, rolling her eyes at the former smuggler. Han grinned in her direction, guiding himself strictly by the sound of her voice. As the two women helped him get up, they were stopped by maniacal laughter. The lights came up and behind them was Jabba and his minions._  
_‘Shit’, Marion thought while Leia spoke her thoughts aloud._  
_In his native tongue, he told Han Solo he would go to the cells and join his friend Chewie. Han tried to appease Jabba, telling him that now that he was a big shot in the rebellion, he would pay him back all that he owed him. But the Hutt gangster wasn’t convinced. After Han was taken away, she and Leia were pushed before them. No cells awaited them, instead, as they felt the fat slug’s saliva on them, they were taken to another room where they forcefully dressed in dancer suits._

**~o~**

Slaves, that is what they had been reduced to. Dancing, slave girls. And by the way Jabba looked at them, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to assume, they would also be promised to their minions if the fat slug felt like it.

Ugh. She tried getting her collar out but to her surprise it was made of Valyrian steel. “Is this some kind of sick joke?” She asked Leia while everyone was busy paying attention to the song that was being played by a new band.

“With these people, everything is a sick joke.” Leia told her. Her sister had tried getting her collar out too, but there was only one way and that was breaking the chains.

Marion squeezed her fists when Jabba ordered her and Leia to dance. They were brought to a halt on his command.

“You.” His aide and translator, Bib Fortuna, said, pointing to Marion.

“Yes?” Marion asked, raising her chin defiantly, yet holding her tongue for what she wished to say to this pathetic lifeform.

“You shall dance and sing.” Fortuna said and before she stepped on the platform, he gripped her arm and hissed, “Jabba will not put up with you much longer if you keep looking at him in the eye.”

Again, she held her tongue. _The rose will not be uprooted._ “Of course.” She said, nodding her head low, and did as she was told.

The court of Jabba the Hutt roiled in malignant ecstasy. Oola, the beautiful creature chained to Jabba, joined her. She was the only Twi’lek among his slaves and therefore, she was more valued than them. But today that was about to change as she eyed Marion nervously.

Marion understood. It wasn’t the same as having two royal slaves. Humans as they were, weak and fragile, they were Force-sensitive, and their exploits were well known. If Jabba wished, he could kill Oola and make her and Leia the new objects of his affection.

The thought of having to pleasure this beast made her want to vomit. She gave a sympathetic glance to alien girl who danced more provocatively in an effort to keep Jabba’s attentions focused on her. It didn’t take long for Marion to realize that something was not right. And when she refused Jabba’s command and continued to dance, coming closer to the fat slug, Marion realized what she was trying to do.

**_No!_ **

Marion moved closer to her but Bib Fortuna held her back. Oola was now a step away from Jabba and swinging her chains around his neck, he attempted to strangle him but the fat slug was too powerful and the chains were too heavy for her. Eventually, as Marion was moved and forced to stand besides Leia again, Oola was overpowered.

Jabba pushed a button which released Oola’s chain. Before she could flee, a grating trapdoor in the floor dropped open, and she tumbled into the pit below. The door slammed shut instantly.

“Release her!” Leia screamed and in response, Jabba pressed something that sent shock through her body, making her scream in pain.

Hate cursing through her veins, she glared at this disgusting, fat, vile creature _. When I am out of here, I swear I will make you suffer just as you made your enemies suffer._ She squeezed her fists tightly, her nails digging deep into her flesh, drawing blood from her palms. She ignored the pain as she looked below. I must be strong as my lady mother. Margaery Tyrell never shied away from danger. She lived for the game. She had been schooled by the greatest political masters in Westeros, which included her lady grandmother, Lady Olenna. The woman was in reality her lady great-grandmother, but she looked formidable in her golden and blue suits, and not a day old from the holo-pictures taken of her from the days of the old republic that she couldn’t help but think of her as such.  
The two, along with Cersei, had never let her turn her back on a challenge. When Lord Vader turned his back on her, when the Lady Mary referred to her as a worm, her lady mother didn’t let her run back to her. She gave her a look that said ‘confront your fears’. She was always going to meet foul people in her life. What counted wasn’t if she fell, is how many times she got up and continued to move forward.  
And so, Marion steeled herself further as everyone gathered around her, Leia and Jabba, and the rest and heard a low, rumbling roar, followed by a terrified shriek.

Jabba laughed until he slobbered. His minions could barely see anything, but those closest to him, had seen everything.

Oola’s shrieks had gone silent as she was eaten by Jabba’s monster. 

* * *

 Lando had managed to infiltrate this nest of maggots months earlier to see it if was possible to free Solo from Jabba’s imprisonment. He’d done this for several reasons.

First, because he felt (correctly) that it was his fault Han was in this predicament, and he wanted to make amends -provided, of course, he could do so without getting hurt. Blending in here, like just one of the pirates, was no problem for Lando, who had relied on the Ayakashi sisters who owed him and Han a couple of favors.  
Second, he wanted to join forces with Han’s buddies at the top of the Rebel Alliance. They were out to beat the Empire, and he wanted nothing more in his life now than to do just that. The Imperial police had moved in on his action once too often; so this was a grudge match, now. Besides, Lando liked being part of Solo’s crowd, since they seemed to be right up at the business end of all the action against the Empire.  
Third, Princess Leia and the lady Marion had asked him to help, and he just never could refuse a princess and the daughter of one formidable woman, who was also the granddaughter of another queen, asking for help. Besides, you never knew how the two might thank you some day.  
Finally, Lando would have bet anything that Han simply could not be rescues from this palace -Lando just plain couldn’t resist a bet.

So he spent his days watching a lot. Watching and calculating. That’s what he did now, as the two women were forced to danced for his royal slugness. If Bib Fortuna hadn’t gotten to Marion, Lando would have. Even though that would have blown his cover.  
The bad started playing again after the late slave’s cries grew silent.  
One more slave, who cared. This was just another day in Jabba’s palace and he could see the hatred in the Princess and her half-sister’s eyes. For a moment he was reminded of Vader, but that image changed as they regained their stoicism and became docile.

Truly, the galaxy had not seen stronger women. Jabba had no idea what he had uprooted when he had taken these two pretty flowers and turned them into his slave. Not all flowers were pretty to look at, some were incredibly beautiful but once you touched them, you’d find your fingers pricked. Princess Leia and Lady Marion were even more dangerous than that. They would not release their poison until the time was right, and when that moment came, Jabba was going to wish never to have lay a finger on them.


	32. Sins of our Fathers and Bad Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As people reminisce about their past, Han can't help but think 'what is it with people being crazy?' Our favorite smuggler wakes up and all of a sudden everyone is having delusions of grandeur.

_“I will be King and you will be Queen_  
Nothing will drive us away  
we will be heroes, if just for one day..."  
~Heroes by David Bowie

Han was updated with the latest news, from Leia being the true twin sister of Luke. “Fraternal twin.” Chewie corrected him. To Marion being Jane Kyra’s. What he wasn’t prepared for was Anakin fucking Skywalker being their father. Truth be told, he was not prepared for was that the old republic’s hero with no fear was Darth Vader and he had been married to the Senator and former Queen of Naboo. Ok, backtrack on that. Han was totally prepared for that. But what he wasn’t prepared for was that he had gotten cozy with the lady Mary.  
Sure, he had heard the rumors and the name had come up when he was old enough to understand what going behind your wife’s back, meant, and heard his old man and his aunts Jane and Catherine, talk about it. But he never thought that the hero with no fear was **that** involved with the lady Mary.  
_You learn something new every day_. “The point of the matter is that you are safe, cub.” Chewie said, locking him in a powerful embrace.

Han to tell the Wookie to stop because he was suffocating him. Chewie continued to fill him in on his friends' doings.

“So this is Lando’s plan? What is Lando doing here?”

Chewie barked extensively.

Han shook his head. “Are Luke and Kyra crazy? Why’d you listen to them? Those two can’t even take care of themselves, let alone rescue anyone!”

Chewie told him that the two had more training and were on their way to become Jedis.

“Jedi Knights? Come on! The Jedi have been extinct for years and don’t tell me about Master Kenobi because the old coot doesn’t count. I am out of it for freaking years and everybody gets delusions of grandeur!”

Chewbacca growled insistently.

Han nodded dubiously in the blackness. He rubbed his eyes. Part of his sight had returned, but he still couldn’t make out anything. “I will believe it when I see it, if you’ll excuse the expression.”

Jedi Knights? _More like idiots._     
_**Sun Twins!** _ They were not even twins, and they still believed they could save the galaxy. Those two needed some reality check.  
It was too much for him to deal at the moment. He hoped he did not have to meet lady Mary or lord Vader. Correction, he did not intend to meet any one of them! Especially his Sith Highness. That man had made what would have been Han's best day of his life, into his worst. _And if he sees me locking lips with his daughter ..._ he didn't want to think what he would do.   
 _Well, can't be worse than my old man._ Sir Thomas Seymour would go on with his sermons about how dangerous it was getting close to Leia. And his aunt would tell him how she would be his death.  
 _What is it with everyone on this damn galaxy butting on everyone's business?_ Couldn't he have one day of peace?

Chewie guided him to a bed nearby. He thanked his first mate and lay his back against the hard mattress.

Before Han closed his eyes, sighing, dreading what Luke and Jane Kyra were up to, he remembered Leia’s words when he asked who had freed him. “One who loves you.” Marion was there as well. She showed him the same courtesy she always did, but something was different. Han was too caught in the moment, to piece everything together.  
Leia’s words were replaced with his aunt’s.

**~o~**

_Han got home late. He used the old technique ‘get them when they’re asleep’ to sneak back to his room using the wooden ladder he had built with the help of his old man. Thomas Seymour, being the noble man and former English knight that he was, had mocked it. He would have destroyed it if it wasn’t for his aunt Jane. Her smile made every day feel like it was Spring._

_Han suddenly felt guilty for lying to his aunt. She was always preaching to him about virtue and morality. She would be devastated if she knew what Han had done._

_He sighed. Opening up the window, he quietly crept to his bed. The minute he got there, the light were turned on and he saw his old man. Before he could explain things to him, Thomas held up his hand and Han closed his mouth._

_“Your aunts are asleep in their rooms. Your cousins are in theirs, trembling no doubt for when morning comes and I have to tell them that they lied on your behalf and I break Jane’s heart and tell her that you came home late because you weren’t studying with Jip Jok but instead were in Almos’s whore party.”_

_Han opened his mouth but no words came. His old man had scored on every point. But he was also wrong. The plan had initially been to go to Jip Jok’s house to study but stuff happened and when Sandra told him about the party in her brother’s house, he decided to go. How could he refuse? He had been after Sandra for months now, and she and her brother were two of the most popular people in school. He wanted to be part of the ‘in’ crowd and not have to use his fists to gain respect from the older boys.  
Unfortunately, his old man didn’t see it that way. When Han finished, he unfolded his arms and walked to him. Han was expecting another angry retort but instead he got slap across the face._

_Han glared at him, rubbing his left cheek. After a few moments of silence, Han said. “I hate you.”_

_“I know and as much as I’d love the feeling to be mutual, you are my blood so I can’t bring myself to hate you.” Thomas said. “While you are in my house, you will follow my rules or go back to that shit-hole I found you.”_

_“I didn’t do anything.” He said as his old man made his way to the door. Thomas turned and snorted. “It’s the truth.” He said, louder than he intended._

_“Lower your voice down, boy. You don’t want to wake your aunts. Let Jane have this good night sleep before she knows how you tossed the rule book out the window.”_

_“I didn’t throw anything, I swear. Sandra invited me for some drinks and I went. End of story. It was harmless fun.”_

_“Those last two words are not part of your dictionary and you forget that you are my son and for that reason alone, I know when you are lying.” Thomas gave one last grin and wheeled around but he was stopped once again by Han, who defiantly told him about his family history._

_“Is that why you fight so hard for the rebels? Because you want to restore the old monarchies? In school, I learned the kind of people that Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour were. And what each of their families did to place them in power. Are you going to throw me under the speeder like you threw your rivals once the monarchies are restored. Or are you going to name me your house slave?”_

_“Careful there Han, I can put up with your nonsense but not your aunt. She has worked hard for this family. You have no idea the things we’ve done to keep you and your cousins safe. Then again, how can you know when the only thing you have ever been good at is being a scoundrel? If I didn’t know better, you had to humiliate yourself for that girl so she could open her legs for you.”_

_“Stop it.”_

_“You aim too high, boy. You always have. You want to know the truth why I fight for the rebels?” He didn’t wait for Han to answer. “I could give less than two hoots about the monarchy. As far as I know, things are better without royals; your aunt’s only function as consort to Henry VIII was to make babies, now she helps the rebels. She has ambitions and she wants to help.” He smiled at that. “Your aunt was always interested in help, but then you had old royalists who accused her of walking all over her predecessor’s blood and being the sole reason for her demise. I loved pointing out that Jane was no different than Anne or Catherine. Two mistresses that she served yet she now has no problem pointing out their flaws or facing her demons. That is why I fight with the Rebels, Han. Because they believed in a world that is not ruled by one man or a select few. They believed in democracy. On my native planet, there used to be societies that believed in that concept. People could elect their leaders based on how well they did their job. It wasn’t a perfect system, there were a few who couldn’t vote and slavery was still practiced, but had they continued with it, it would have evolved into something great.” He paused. His eyes became sad. If Han knew better, he was thinking about his brother’s death and his family. “I was lured into temptation because I followed my brother. At least that is what I told myself, until I looked myself in the mirror and saw the pathetic low-life form that I was. Jane told me that she saw it too, only she was referring to herself as well.  
I believed that if Jane gave the King a son, that the Seymours would rule over that little future sovereign through our sister and we were not ashamed to smile when our enemies fell, or the former princesses of England, paid their respects to lesser man than them. It made me feel good, and when I was with your mother, it made me feel good as well. Being with someone of noble blood, from another planet, no less. It was more than my brother had achieved. But I was stupid. Titles, crowns, they all mean nothing. What we do, is all that matters.”_

**~o~**

“What we do is all that matters.” Han found himself repeating those words before he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

Mary rested her hands on her swollen belly. The child had been unusually still today. She was thankful for that. She didn’t want to be distracted while she watched her son danced with his wife.

She forgot about the rebels’ incessant mocking and taunting behind her back, and ignored their glares. Tonight is for my baby. Her oldest son, Owen. Owen begged her not to call him a ‘Prince’ but she couldn’t help it. Her baby boy looked every bit a Prince. He is a true royal. Her smile became wider when he surprised Lya by kissing her again. She slapped his back playfully. Ned came and whispered something in his ear which made him laugh.

“You two are idiots. You are supposed to be mad Ned.” Lya said, rather loudly, making every head turn in their direction.

“I am but that doesn’t mean I can’t have some fun at your expense dear sister and let me say you look like a true lady tonight.”

“Oh do shut up.” She said. Ned grinned and whispered something back to Owen which made him laugh louder.

“That is enough, Ned, go back to your table, and annoy the hell out of Elizabeth. I want to enjoy my wedding night.”

“Of course, my darling little lady. Your Highness and Your lady Highness.” Ned said, grinning at the two, and winking at Lya as she huffed loudly.

Ned returned to his table, sitting next to Elizabeth who had loads to tell him.

Mary was happy that the young Targaryen-Stark had found another soul to talk to. Bess could be difficult but she understood more than anybody (currently) in this base, what it meant to be someone’s shadow.

As Mary was lost in her thoughts, she didn’t notice, Anakin come and extend his hand out to her. Clearing his throat, he snapped her out of her thoughts. “May I have this dance, my lady?”

“What will everyone say?”

“Do we really care what they are going to say?”

“No.” Mary said and took his hand. “Try not to trip to feel too uncomfortable.” She warned him when they began dancing. “It has been a while since I’ve done this.”

“Nonsense. The last time you danced was two years ago, and you danced better than the rest of the Imperial court.” Anakin said and added, “Much better than lady Sansa.”

Mary couldn’t help but chuckle at that.

“You are still beautiful.” His words surprised her.

“I am as big as an ox, or a wampa.” Mary said, looking down at her belly. “How can you still think I am beautiful?”

“When I first saw you, your mother told me that she would take my eyes out if she could and when your supposed father married Anne Boleyn, I thought it would have been the perfect opportunity to take you off-world.”

“Now, I know you are lying. You would have never abandoned Padme. You loved her.”

“I thought I did. She was the first human female I saw that was kind to me besides my mother. I was a kid, I wanted to make her happy. I thought that it would be like in the tales my mother told me, where the knight saved the princess from the ice dragon and they lived happily ever after.”

“Have you ever thought about what your life would have been if you two … if she …” _Just say it._ “if she lived?” _There_. She was scared of Anakin’s response but she had to hear it.

“All the time. And the answer used to be ‘we would have been happy. She would have been my empress and I, the Emperor’ but that is a fallacy. She would have left me and I would have spent the rest of my life, refusing to see that the only person who cared about me was you.”

Mary rested her head on his shoulder as they slowed their pace.

“And you? Would you have married that impoverished Duke instead of being with Arthur?”

Mary didn’t miss the jealousy in his voice. She had taunted him with Philip days before the destruction of the Sun Twins, saying that she had opened her legs for every man that came her way and thought of them when she and Anakin were still together. Anakin didn’t believe her, and she knew that, but she wanted to make him angry at the time. It was the only thing the two enjoyed, their back and forth.

“I don’t know. Probably, my mother would have married me to him, had she lived, or my stepmother Anne, had she lived too.”

“Good thing, we are where we are.” Anakin said, kissing her dark auburn head. “I am sorry I lied to you.”

“It is not your fault. I was Melusina, remember? Maybe this is all happening for a reason.”

“It is not. When Master Qui Gon visited my mother, she told me that he had told her that nothing happened by chance. He told me the same thing before I raced to get him and Padme the parts they needed for their ship. ‘Everything happens for a reason.’ But that is not true. We are just here by chance.”

“Maybe he was right, though. The Sith made sure I was incarnated as the daughter of Obi Wan and Catherine of Aragon. And Obi Wan’s parents made sure that their son became a Jedi so he’d find his way to my mother. And you … you are the chosen one.”

“It makes no difference who we are or where we come from Mary. Nothing in this life has a purpose unless we give life one. I destroyed the Jedi because I was afraid, and you joined the Sith because you had been betrayed. The Jedi made their own beds, so did we. Nobody is free of blame.”

“I rather believe some people are. Just look at my son and his wife, look at Bess and Ned. They look happy together. Can’t we at least pretend that some things are meant to happen, for their sake?”

Anakin turned to the couples she mentioned. “Yes, they do look happy.” He said and said nothing more. But in the back of his mind, he thought about what life awaited them after this was over.

* * *

Thrawn was silent as he waited for the couple’s bickering to end. He was amused by the lady Sansa’s stoicism, and Grand Moff Jon Targaryen’s loss of control. Someone else should have been given the title of Grand Moff. Not only was Jon as indecisive and incapable as his best friend, the former hand of the Sith, Lord Vader; he was also impatient.

People like him amused Thrawn though. Those who assumed that there were such things as good or evil, or believed that the latter was just good being taken too far for selfish reasons, were ignorant.

There was no good and evil in this universe. There was only meaning. And the meaning people gave to things was all that mattered. Thrawn had lived and seen too much, to be raptured by petty notions of morality. He was one of the few who was unclouded by such naïve views. His men respected him as well as feared him. The Emperor trusted him, in spite of his alien background, because he got things done.

Studying other cultures was more than a hobby to him, it was his passion. The more information he gathered about someone, the more he supported his view, that nobody was good or evil. That depended on the individual and the society he came from. Those that adamantly held views (like those of Earth, for example) that ‘this queen was good’ ‘this queen was evil’ ‘she doesn’t deserve sympathy’ she does’ because of this or that, were pitiful creatures that deserved little of anything.

After the Grand Moff left in anger, lady Sansa turned to him. “My son is with the rebels and my daughter is now married to that bastard. How am I ever going to restore my family’s honor?”

“Your family’s honor can be restored.” Thrawn said, sitting down behind his desk. “Grand Moff Targaryen’s reaction was to be expected. It is good that you brought him here though, my lady, it has saved me the trouble of going to him. You are not so upset about your son’s love interest.”

“Lady Elizabeth has royal blood flowing through her veins. Her mother is no whore, and she is no bastard like that boy. Lyanna has done a terrible mistake.”

“Mistakes can be corrected.” Thrawn said. “As for your notion of the two Earth queens, whore is a subjective term.”

“You don’t think that a woman who slept with a Jedi Master and passed her bastard as the King, is not a whore?”

“No.” Thrawn said. “But then again, my opinion doesn’t matter where humans, especially your kind on Earth are concerned. They see things in black or white. There is no such thing in real life, both women are one and the same, same as we all are the same.”

“Sometimes I wonder, Grand Admiral, what has made your view of the galaxy so nihilistic?”

“Is that what they call logic, these days?” Thrawn asked. He grinned when he said the following. “I have seen more than these petty women have seen, as you, I was never asked about what I wanted to do. ‘You are born with what you are born. Get used to it’. I was told. If the lady Mary was a Protestant, the Protestants would excuse her, if her mother had been Henry VIII’s second wife and done what Anne Boleyn did, they would have praised her. Earth people love to live in romantic times but romanticism as everything else, including the god they worship, is an illusion. Anne Boleyn, Catherine of Aragon, the lady Mary, your mother, your husband, your offspring, they are all the same. They have done a living lying to themselves and justifying themselves for others, and people die for them and defend them as if they mattered, because they feel the need to identify with someone. Deep down, terrestrials know that these people will never care for them, or be grateful for their services, but they do these things anyway. Why? Because they have been conditioned to. Once you take the blindfold, and they realize that they are all alone, and they are as worthless as they are, they become scared. It is the nature of your people, they need guidance and therefore, they look up to strangers who -born under the right circumstances- are worshiped as gods.  
Catholics burn protestants because they can, torture people out of sheer will for the same reason and disguise it under ‘duty’ because of their god, and Protestants hold themselves as morally superior while turning a blind eye when one of their flock sends someone of another faith to his death.  
It is why their kind is not meant to prosper. Even if the rebels win, terrestrials will never adapt to galactic lifestyle. They have no desire to be part of the galaxy. They believe they are better than everyone else and their view is the correct one, and given how many different groups of terrestrials are, it won’t be long before some alien species or human one, says ‘enough is enough’ and destroys them.”

“And that person is you, Grand Admiral?”

“Of course not my dear. I am a proud servant of the Empire, not a butcher. But someone eventually will put an end to their nonsense. Sadly, I fear I won’t be around when their time comes.” He said. “It is a pity, I would have loved to see how it all played out.” Then he changed the subject. “About your daughter again, you can’t undo their union but there are ways to save your reputation.” He said and told her the contingency plan he had. When their meeting was over, Sansa was smiling deviously.

* * *

“Catherine,” Obi Wan called to his lover. “The ceremony, is over. We should get going.”

“I want to stay a little longer, if you don’t mind.” Obi Wan nodded and stayed with her. “Anakin and Mary did not to. I asked them and they outright refused.”

“That is because lord Vader never knew how to treat royalty.” Anne said, coming to sit between them.

 _Oh Force, please no._ Obi Wan buried his face in his hand. The last thing he needed was another former queen embarrassing him.

Anne chuckled at him. “Do not worry Master Kenobi, I am not here to ruin your wonderful night with the Princess.”

“Why are you here then, Your Majesty?”

“Besides pointing the obvious how your former apprentice still has no class? I just wanted to have some company.”

“On that we agree.” Catherine said, grateful to have someone that could relate to her predicament. “Your daughter seems very attached to that boy.”

“Attachment is not the correct word. I would use infatuated.” Anne said, her voice filled with disdain as she remembered how she told Bess she was being foolish, showing kindness to that boy before the wedding, and she disobeyed her anyway. “Bess never listens. She is so sure that she can change him.”

“Look at us. Two Queens suffering from our daughter’s love affairs with two complicated men.”

“Henry is complicated, Master Kenobi here, is complicated. Sorry Master Kenobi, but you are.” The Two former queens laughed at Obi Wan’s expense. “Eddard Targaryen-Stark and Anakin Skywalker though? They are beyond complicated.” She turned to Obi Wan. “You and your master should have left that boy where you found him.”

“I made a promise to my master and Anakin was more than a friend, he was like a brother, he was family.”

“Except you had a family, Obi Wan.” Catherine told him.

“You said that you did not want to waste your life with a second-class Jedi like me.” Obi Wan said.

“No, not me and Mary. Your parents.” Catherine said. Anne looked at her puzzled and Obi Wan looked away.

“What are you talking about, Catherine?”

“Mary and Anakin told me about them. You knew who they were. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Obi Wan looked back at her. There was a guilty look on his face. “What is she talking about, Master Kenobi?”

“My parents.”

Anne tilted her head in confusion. “I thought the Jedi-“

“Were not supposed to tell us where we came from?” Obi Wan finished for her. “Yes, that was the original idea but me and a select few were special cases. When my master and I came to Earth for the first time, I encountered one of the red priests. After I returned to the Jedi Temple, I snuck into the Jedi archives and found that what he said was true. My real parents were worshippers of the red god and they believed that my birth would herald a new era. They believed that I was the promised one. When the Jedi took me from them, some of their _friends_ worked so my child with Catherine could be used as their savior but when Anakin came, their plans were put on hold. And then the Empire was created and everything they planned for, was wrecked.” He sighed. “I didn’t want anyone to know because they had dabbled in dark magic and the dark side of the Force. I blamed myself for Mary’s fall. There was so much darkness in her and she got that from me.”

“There you go again, being too hard on yourself. I love our daughter more that life itself, but you were right when you told me that there was still light inside her. There is, but what she did is also her. Not you, not me, certainly not Anne, it is her. And the same goes to Anakin and everyone else here. Mary made her choices and as much as it pains me, we can’t make excuses for her any longer.”

“I am not going to let her die, Catherine. I left her once, I am not leaving her again.  
  
“No one is asking you to leave her.” Anne said, surprising Obi Wan, at her calm tone. “But Catherine is right. You can’t atone for her sins.”

“Are you both agreeing on something?”

“As much as it surprises you, Master Kenobi, yes.”

“What Anne is saying my love is that we must help Mary make peace with herself, but we can’t make it easy. After this is over, she and Anakin can leave if that is what they still want, but they must be reminded of what they did, otherwise, their child will have no better life than them.”

Obi Wan nodded. He looked at the two women seated beside him. They still looked as young as when they were brought back to life. And they will be like this for many years. Their aging process was slower than the average humans. Which meant that when they finally passed away, their grandchildren would have already died of old age.

He didn’t envy them. _Nobody should have to live that long._ Any other person would have already gone crazy but they weren’t other people. Anne and Catherine, under different circumstances, could have been friends instead of rivals. The two were formidable women who could withstand any pain. Like a mother bear, Anne would protect her child from any danger, but unlike other matrons, she wasn’t afraid of telling her daughter the truth, even when it hurt her, to stop her from making the same mistakes she did.  
Catherine was blunt as well, but whereas Anne was pragmatic, Catherine could be too sentimental, letting the worst part of her take control of her, and cloud her judgment.

 


	33. A Mother's Love: Blood is not thicker than water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the Naberries reminisce about the past, Anakin Skywalker aka the former Lord Vader, ponders about the future.

Jobal Naberrie was a woman of many tastes. Like her daughter she worried about the common man. But she never felt any sympathy for them. She pitied them, poor creatures who couldn’t afford a loaf of bread. She wanted her daughter to be better than her, so she encouraged Padme to volunteer in the Amnesty program. After she turned ten, she had made a name for herself. She became the first student of her class to be accepted to the Galactic Academy of Politics on Theed. Most youths graduated in four years, she graduated in one. And in time to become the youngest Princess ever elected.

Ruwee was also very indulgent with their daughters. When Padme brought Anakin Skywalker home, the two knew immediate that their youngest daughter had been hit by the love bug. At first her husband was weary, but he grew to like him. So when they found out about Padme’s union, they didn’t say a thing. Their daughter was happy, she was a rising star, fighting for what was right. That was all that mattered.

Until that girl came along.

That disgraceful royal bastard, daughter of a whore and her son-in-law’s former master. It didn’t take long for her and Ruwee to discover that the two had married in secret.

When reports came from one of their spies in the English court that the lady Mary was pregnant, they didn’t hesitate to act. Getting her daughter to find out about Anakin’s betrayal with that chit was easy, poisoning her however, had been hard. Her immune system turned out to be stronger than they’d calculated, but in the end they got what they wanted. The girl had miscarried and in  her grief, accusing Padme of the deed, she had driven Anakin back to his rightful wife’s arms.

Jobal pictured the poor girl, crying in her bed, refusing to part with her fetus. Poor girl indeed. Jobal almost felt sorry for her. Almost. The girl was tainted from birth. She was the product of a love affair and in Naboo they had a saying, that bastards were born to be liars. It was in their nature.

To their misfortune, Anakin had gone back to her and she had fallen pregnant yet again. Employing her only surviving daughter’s husband to approach her under the guise of her father’s ally, he had been instructed to slip Amun powder in her drink. Amun was a powerful plant that helped cure stomachaches, but in heavier doses it acted as an abortion remedy. Her son-in-law would have succeeded, had it not been for his conscience which on the last second prompted him to tell her the truth and beg her forgiveness. Being the idiot that she was, Mary forgave him but warned him never to cross her again.

Eventually, Sola and her husband did cross her and this time they didn’t find the lady Mary -now an Inquisitor- so forgiving.

With both of her daughters dead, her son-in-law also dead, and the other lost to the dark side, Jobal had no choice but to use her connections and Ruwee’s to fund the rebellion. As much as she hated the sight of the lady Mary’s daughter being raised along Padme’s daughter, she could put up with it because she was being raised by royals. Or so they loved to call themselves.

**~o~**

_Ruwee and Jobal weren’t eager to meet with the Tyrells or the Lannister woman. But they wanted to get a good look of Anakin’s youngest bastard._

_When the two found Margaery chasing her so called ‘daughter’ around the meadows Senator and Prince, Bail Organa and his wife, Queen Breha had paid for, they were surprised to find the two so well acquainted._

_“She doesn’t take after Anakin. Nor her mother.” Ruwee said to Jobal and she nodded. “The Lady Margaery looks like she could be her mother.”_

_She did and that worried Jobal because this woman had fallen under this girl’s spell, and it was going to make this thing more difficult._

_“She is not going to want to talk to us once we tell her the full truth about her mother’s ancestry.” Ruwee told her and he was right._

_“I don’t care where lady Mary comes from, what she did. Marion is a Tyrell through and through. She is my daughter. Nothing is going to change that.” In that instant, her ‘daughter’ came running to the living room. She stopped when she saw the Naberries and curtsied to them. “My lord, my lady. It is an honor to meet you.”_

_“Fine curtsey. I did not learn to make one so good as yours until I was twelve.” Jobal said. “How old are you, child?”_

_They expected her to look to her mother for answers like a cowering child but instead she clasped her hands in front of her green and blue dress which had a golden rose in the front surrounded by metal thorns and responded calmly, “Nine, my lady.”_

_“Nine?” Marion nodded. “You are a big girl then, like the Princess.” She turned to Margaery Tyrell. “You must be very proud.”_

_“I am.” Margaery said, gracious as ever, though her eyes betrayed her. They looked sharply at the Naberrie patriarch and matron, daring them to do something to bring out the warrior in Margaery._

_‘This rose does have thorns.’ Jobal thought. She had to credit the lady Olenna for her granddaughter’s stoicism. She did not need sword or blaster to fight, her weapons were her words, her beauty and lastly, her elegance. ‘And she is passing those weapons down to her daughter.’ Jobal observed as Marion stood, patiently still, looking like the mirror image of her lady mother when she was younger._

_“Marion, why don’t you go to your lady grandmothers and offer them entertainment.”_

_“Of course, mama. What shall I sing for them?”_

_Margaery kissed her daughter’s cheek and said, “The Golden Rose and the Lion. It will be one they will enjoy, I am sure of it and no one can sing it better than you.”_

_“I will and I shall also sing the new song you taught me and dance as you did on the Queen’s last ball.”_

_“It won’t compare to yours.” Margaery said. Her eyes showed some sadness as she watched her daughter leave to the parlor where Lady Olenna and Cersei Lannister, were waiting._

_“You truly love that child.”_

_“I would refrain from using that tone if I were you lady Jobal. She is my daughter, and that is the end of it.”_

_“That may be true but blood doesn’t lie. When she finds out what she is, she will turn her back on you. She is just like her mother.”_

_“Yes, she is. And her mother is a warrior so my daughter is too.” Margaery said in a crisp tone. “I will not repeat myself again, I am her mother. I sang to her, rocked her, washed her. I know every inch of her body. Can the lady Mary say that about her? She is too busy raising her new child that she’s forgotten she has had two.”_

_“Beautiful speech but you are deluding yourself my dear. She will never be your daughter.”_

_Lady Margaery pressed both her lips together. She was wearing a green and blue dress that mirrored her daughter’s. Ruwee could tell that woman was one second away from saying something that would anger his wife, so he decided to step in._

_“Your reputation as a charitable woman precedes you, but I am afraid that you are overlooking something important. The girl isn’t your daughter and when learns the truth about her parentage, she is going to forget you. Furthermore, she is a danger to you and lady Olenna and the Queen Dowager.” Ruwee. “You have bathed her, loved her, and that is admirable. It truly is, but as she grows, you will see more of her mother until one day you are left with one choice.”_

_There was silence for a while. Jobal thought her husband had finally made the woman reconsider, but then the former queen of Westeros spoke. “I appreciate your concern for my family’s well-being, lord Naberrie but with all due respect, you are terribly mistaken when it comes to my daughter. Blood has nothing to do with it. The love I have for her, is something that cannot be measured and if someone were to harm a hair of her body, I would hurt that person back a million times over.”_

**~o~**

Another deluded soul. She felt sad for Margaery when she heard about Alderaan’s destruction. But she dug her own grave the minute she decided to adopt her. Nothing good ever came from the lady Mary’s line. While her opinion of the lady Marion had mellowed (as that of her twin, Jane Kyra), she still held the same view of her mother.

Anakin hadn’t approached them (yet), but since their arrival, in time for Owen Tudor’s wedding to Lyanna Targaryen-Stark, he had done nothing but avoid them. Whenever they tried to approach him, he would turn the other way, or go back to his mistress.

Ruwee tried to make her feel better, by telling her that Anakin could lie to himself all he wanted, “But in the end” he added sitting next to her in the couch of the large guest room, they had been given by the rebels, “he will always be reminded that his true wife was Padme.”

“What if he marries her?”

“He won’t.” Ruwee assured her.

“How do you know? He’s fallen under her spell again and he is willing to suspend disbelief and pretend that bastard waiting in her belly is his.”

“It won’t last. Anakin changes his mind really quickly. That works to our advantage. Once he sees her for who she really is; he will forget about her and let her die.”

“It is not that which worries me.” Jobal said.

“Then what is the problem?”

“If that child is born, people will forget why we have been fighting her. She will use the rape as her tool to gain sympathy and escape prosecution and I don’t know if I can live knowing that, that woman is alive and breathing, raising her new child when our daughter never got the chance.”

“I understand, but trust me Jobal, that won’t happen.” Ruwee promised her.

* * *

While Ruwee and Jobal were discussing their future, Anakin was thinking about his latest vision. He had tried to talk to his son and daughter, Jane Kyra and Luke but the two didn’t want to speak about their visions with him. He understood them. He approached Thrawn’s former spy who told him that Luke’s visions had not been so dark, but Jane Kyra’s had.  
This worried him immensely. He didn’t know what she’d seen, but being his daughter, it must have been something terrible. Nothing good ever came from looking to the future. Master Yoda said that future was not set, while his other former master, the Emperor, said that everything had a purpose.

Anakin was no longer of the mind that there was such a thing as destiny. What the Jedi did when they foretold that he would be their end, was ensuring their destruction. Their fear and mistrust, as well as abuse of him and countless others, did just that. It was a self-fulfilled prophecy as much as every other prophecy in history.   
And when he acted on his fears, he had also ensured his vision’s fulfillment.   
But this one though, was unlike the previous ones. He couldn’t see who was in pain, though he could make out Mary’s voice, screaming ‘why’ countless times before a dark figure came and told him there was nothing he could do to prevent this. **_You will watch her suffer_**. Judging by its tone, it sounded more like a warning than mockery.

 _Perhaps the Force is telling me of Arthur’s intentions so I keep it from happening._ Lord Arthur had become merciless, skinning people alive and torturing others for days before finally putting them to death. Anakin knew he wasn’t going to rest until he had Mary back so he could use her as bait to force her mother out of hiding. _And Obi Wan_. There was no telling what Arthur would do to his former master once they were face to face. Over five years ago, Anakin would have given everything to kill him, now the thought alone made him sad.

It was funny, really. He hated his master, yet he couldn’t bear the thought of losing him. Deep down, Anakin still thought of him as family.

He looked at Mary, resting besides him with a smile on her face. She had been very happy seeing her son married at last. Anakin felt indifferent although he pretended to be joyous. He still thought of her son as naïve, but part of him, felt nostalgia when Owen called Lyanna his warrior angel. It was the same thing he had called Mary after they consummated their love.  
Swinging his arm around her protectively, he felt the child within her move. It was calm whenever Anakin was around its mother. No doubt, it sensed his good intentions.  
Anakin was not going to let Arthur near her. Mary’s body still bore scars from their last encounter. When Anakin found her, she was barely conscious and could barely walk. She talked about nothing but death and her desire to be punished for everything that she did. It took him months to knock some sense into her and albeit she was less sad than before, she still talked about retribution for their sins.

Whenever that topic came up, Anakin would direct the conversation to her child and remind her of what she had to live for, and ask her about what she wanted to name the child. Mary believed her child was a girl, while Anakin thought it was a boy. To make her smile, he joked about calling him Henry, like her supposed father but Mary said that there had been enough Henrys on earth. The galaxy did not need another one. Ben had been suggested. It was a good name but too close to his former master’s for his liking.

Closing his eyes, he let sleep take him.


	34. Never Forget

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As our heroes are at a crossroads, they become more determined as their enemies become crueler.

_"Seen a rich man beg, seen a good man sin_  
 _seen a good man cry_  
 _seen a loser win and a sad man grin_  
 _I heard an honest man lie_  
 _seen the good side of bad, and the down side of good_  
 _and everything between_  
I licked the silver spoon  
drank from the golden cup  
smoked the finest green  
I stroked the baddest dimes   
at least a couple of times  
Before I broke their heart  
You know where it ends  
It usually depends on where you start ..."  
~ **What It's Like by Everlast**  
  


**~o~**

Owen awoke the sound of Lya's chuckling. "What is so funny, now? Do I have something on my face?" She didn't respond right away. She took her time, until he grew impatient and threatened to leave early, and she finally told him, whispering in his cheek. "Seriously? That? I told you, my mother hired the wrong photographer. He was supposed to take my photograph standing up, not sitting up. Thanks to that, everyone called me midget for a week."

"It is not as bad as being called, lady man for an entire year. Or you forget how everyone thought that I was secretly a boy?"

"I remember and I also remember how you humiliated them in the training arena." Owen said. "Which brings me to my next topic, when are you going to stop making these rebels cry?"

"It's fun. And I haven't had a good fight in years since you left."

"Sweetheart, I was taken."

"Do not sweetheart-me Owen. You left. You could have attempted to come back and save me and your mom a lot of trouble."

"I tried but every time I was close, there was my half sister watching me with those eyes, just staring at me like I was her next target."

"She is jealous. You got your mother, she didn't." Lya said, kissing his lips softly. 

"I hardly think, that having my mom is something to be jealous about." Owen said, adding what Marion had said about her after she discovered the truth.

"You shouldn't listen to rebel gossip."

"But it is the truth. My mother abandoned her and Kyra and while I understand why -it doesn't change things. You said it yourself, they were subjected to torture when they were on the death star."

"I said that to stop my brother from whining. I am really sorry for what happened to her and her half sister, Leia, but you can't let that get to you. We are finally together, just like we always wanted. That is all that matters."

"I can't help though but feel guilty at times. At others, I want to punch them in their perfect faces."

"Then do it. Not in real life but theoretically. Imagine it is them when you practice with me."

"No, my love, you are too pretty for me to pretend you are them."

"Maybe you are scared that I will beat you again." Lya said and Owen gave him that defiant look. 

"It's on, then."

After the two were dressed, Lya told Owen about visiting the med-droid. Owen's face paled. "You are not-"

"Of course not." Owen sighed in relief. "But just in case, I want to see him so he can give me that chip."

"What chip?"

"The I-PV series. Short for Infiltration Prevention. They were used during the days of the old republic, since the Empire high ranking officers have no need of it, and most women settle down after they reach the rank of captain, it has been discontinued save for the sectors that have been taken by the rebels." She told him. 

"Are you sure you want to go on that? What if it is unsafe?"

"It is not. It will simply be one prick to the skin and it is in. It lasts for two years so we should be safe until then."

Owen did not know what to think. Lya saw his unease and told him, "We can't risk bringing a baby under these conditions. Look at your mother. I don't want to go with what she is going through."

"Don't you want to have children though, someday?" Owen asked, hopeful.

"Yes. Someday. Eventually but not now. It is too dangerous. What if my mother finds out, or worse what if the Emperor does, or your father? You know what they will do, how they will use me and my baby to get you back."

Owen nodded. "Do you want me to accompany you?"

"No, I will be fine. You stay here. I will met you after I am back."

Owen nodded again but instead of waiting for her, he went to the mess hall to grab some food. There was too much going through his head, and though he understood Lya's decision, he was yet unsure of how to react.

* * *

 

_Marion ran across the rose gardens. Her lady mother told her they had important guests. Beat by her (yet again), she was told to go to her room where there was a new dress waiting for her. Marion loved wearing the dresses her mother picked for her. They were of a very distinctive style, but Marion knew how to sew very well, so every time she received one, she would do alterations._

_‘No time for that now’ -Marion told herself. Their guests were waiting and she was surprised to find out it was the Naberries. They didn’t look so kindly on her. Although they exchanged pleasantries, there was something in the Naberrie matron and patriarch which the younger Tyrell didn’t like._

_After they left, she returned to her mother and asked her why she looked upset. Margaery immediately drew a smile and reassured her daughter everything was fine. But Marion could **sense** something was wrong._

_She didn’t know **how** , she just **did.** Since she was little, she was always more in tune with people’s feelings than any other person she knew, or alien for that matter. Her mother called it a gift from the gods, her lady grandmother Cersei said it made her powerful, her other lady grandmother, Olenna, said she had to use it wisely. But Marion didn’t feel any of those things, or like she had to be careful. She was just a kid.  
‘Adults were weird’ she eventually decided and asked no more on the subject. Today though, she decided to test her abilities._

_“I am fine.” Margaery said again, taking her daughter’s hand. “Why don’t you sing for me so in case I do feel sad, your voice will cheer me up.”_

_Without warning, Marion wrung her hands around her mother’s neck. “I do not want you to be sad, lady mother. You are my lady mother, the strongest woman I know and someday I will be just like you.”_

_Margaery was touched. But she couldn’t shake what the Naberries had said. ‘She will never be your daughter.’ Not by blood. Marion was as distant from her as Margaery was from her real mother. But the bond that united them was stronger than any blood link. And it was that bond which strengthened Margaery’s resolve to protect her._  
‘She is the only person I have left besides Olenna, which I am willing to die.’ After her home had been destroyed, and half of the people she knew had been tortured and killed, Margaery felt she had nothing left to live for. Then Master Kenobi showed up on her doorstep, telling her that he needed her to look after this child while he found her a home. Taking care of her, had become more than a hobby and when Bail told her they’d found a family to give her to, Margaery refused to part with her. Surprisingly, she had Cersei and her lady grandmother on her side. The latter two could not stand to see what the lady Mary had become -or Lord Vader. The latter took everything they loved. But this child was innocent. Her eyes had nothing of Vader or her real mother. And if her skin were not so fair, she could be mistaken for a Tyrell.  
So Margaery decided to adopt her. Master Kenobi was not happy. The newly formed Rebel Alliance even less, but Margaery didn’t care.   
It was common knowledge that Marion was adopted. People had assumed that the ‘good, gentle and graceful’ former queen Margaery, had adopted someone from the orphanage to make herself look good. Those who had got to know her, soon found out, it wasn’t true.

 _When Marion tripped, she shed tears. “Why are boys so mean to me mama?” She had asked and Margaery always so formal, took out a handkerchief she’d made which had her House symbol, and wiped her tears with it. “Do not cry. Go out there and show your face to your boys.” -Margaery told her. “But they will laugh at me, mama. They call me bastard. They say that you are not my real mama and I am some unwanted thing my parents left on The Sisters of the Good Goddess of Mercy’s doorstep.” Margaery hugged her daughter then held her shoulders. The two made eye-contact and Margaery said “That is not true and you know it is not true. Are you going to let a few idiots dictate how you feel? Now stand up straight, show them that you are not afraid and don’t hesitate to defend yourself.”_  
Margaery send her daughter outside. While she trembled, when she came back, there was a smile on her face. “It worked.”  
“Of course it did. Didn’t I tell you it would?” Margaery asked, beaming proudly at her daughter.

_After that, Marion hardly needed her. She knew that Margaery would always be there for her but unlike other mothers, she would not fight her battles for her. She did not want to make her daughter dependent and afraid. The galaxy was not a nice place and the best way to prepare her daughter for her future role in the Rebel Alliance was by making her independent._

_Coming back to the present and smiling the same smile she had always given her daughter when something bad happened, she told Marion, “You already make me proud. Very proud but if you want to make me smile more, you can put on that crown of metal roses I ordered for you last week. How about that?” Marion nodded and immediately went for her new tiara._

_“How do I look?”_

_“Like a Queen.” Margaery said. ‘No,’ In all honesty, Margaery saw her as more than a queen. She saw her as hope. While hers and Leia’s respective twins were thought of the Jedi’s great hope by Obi Wan and Yoda, the Rebel leaders saw in Marion and Leia, the Republic’s._

_“Mama, there is that sad look again. What is wrong?” Marion’s eyes showed concern for her. She held her mother’s hand, squeezing it gently._

_She could feel a wave of energy surge through her. ‘The Force’ Margaery realized. ‘She is very gifted too’. Sometimes the thought of it scared her, but other times, she saw it as a weapon that her daughter could use -without her knowing it- against her enemies._

_“Marion, I want you to promise me something.”_

_“Yes, anything.”_

_“Do not promise me yet. Wait until I finish. Remember what I said?” Marion nodded. “We do not strike a bargain until we hear what is in it for us. I want you to be true to yourself. Always remember I love you, and no matter what, never forget who you are.” She touched her cheek, softly brushing her thumb against her fair skin._

_“I won’t lady mother. I promise.” Marion told her mother, addressing her more formally, knowing how much this meant for her._

**~o~**

_Never forget who you are._ Marion focused on the present. She was going to get out of this mess. She was going to act as Jabba’s plaything, dance and stand the others ogling at her while she and her sister degraded themselves for them. And when this was over, she was going to pay back the debt they owed her.

Every jeer, every pull Jabba gave to her chain, every fondle, she would not forget. If he thought that he could break her by uprooting her like she was some delicate flower, he clearly didn’t know her. Before he reached the bottom of her roots, he would find his sluggish form prickled by metal spines and before he had time to recuperate, he would find himself strangled by her weeds.

* * *

Leia was having a similar predicament. Except her hatred was more intense. Raised as a Princess, forced to become a fugitive and risking her life for the man she loved and a cause, she found herself at the mercy of amoral beings. Some went too far and touched her legs, while others expressed what they’d like to do with her when Jabba was not looking or holding her chain.

Unfortunately for her and them, Jabba was always looking, especially at her and Marion. He was enchanted by her voice and how she hardly put up a fight, but he was more enchanted by Leia who never forgot to threaten him every time he pulled her closer.

As she felt his tongue, licking her from her neck all the way up to her face, she bit her tongue and thought of the many ways she would kill him. It brought her strength and made her captivity here more tolerable. It also gave her purpose. The thought of everyone going up in flames, had become oddly comforting.

* * *

Light and Dark. There are always two. A Master and an Apprentice. The Jedi and the Sith’s view of the Force was very narrow. There can be only one path, and that path is very precise. There is no middle ground. However, there were those in between, who practiced the Force by drawing on both sides.

The Force -they believed- could not be called light or dark because it was neither. The Force just was. It existed. Light and dark were in the heart of the user. Both the Jedi and the Sith thought this view was heretical and persecuted all followers of this cult. Its last follower was known as the Bendu and its spirit watched as the two Skywalker sisters struggled to come to terms with their inner demons.

“It might not all be lost.” It said, looking as the two drew on their hatred, and memories of a time long past, to survive.

Appearing next to him, was Owen Lars.

“The two take too much after their father.” He told his fellow ghost companion.

“Perhaps or perhaps they do not. Hatred drew Anakin Skywalker to become a Jedi, his youngest offspring by Padme and Mary on the other hand, have used it to make them stronger and stay on the right path.”

“I thought you said there was no right or wrong path, except in how we lead our lives. I spent my entire life, teaching Luke and Jane right from wrong. I don’t want to see them throw all that way because of their sisters.”

“It might not be so bad if they do. The Jedi failed to reconcile themselves with the truth and in doing so, brought about their own destruction. This time, it shall be different.”

Owen shook his head. “It could be worse. I have seen too much in my short time as a ghost. My mother has seen more, and the more I see, the more I am convinced that nothing will change.”

He had done his part with the other Skywalker girl, Jane Kyra; but the boy was the key as people looked up to him to rebuild the Jedi Order. If he failed like the first Jedi did, history would repeat itself again and unlike last time, there would be nothing to save the galaxy from itself.

“You must not lose faith. You have taught your niece and nephew well, and even if they fail in their task to return the Order to its original state, their seeds will take root, leading others to follow.”

* * *

Elizabeth asked Ned what was wrong. He was more sullen than usual.

He shrugged. “Nothing important.” He said, turning his back to her so she wouldn’t see him in this state but Elizabeth always had her way and he should’ve known that before he visited her. He had pondered on whether he should tell her. In the end, he had decided to knock on her door but fear invaded him once again, once he heard footsteps and was about to turn, when the door opened, revealing Bess, dressed in green and white.

“Out with it.” Bess said, knowing that pitying him was only going to make things worse.

“I received a raven from my mother. Not a literal raven, that is what we call the drones in the shape of birds in the Empire. One of my father’s technicians came with the design.” He explained then resumed his tale, “Anyway, my lady mother knows where I am and she told me through the secret code she and my lady grandmother devised that she was not going to tell the Emperor of my location and furthermore, she added that the Emperor has decided to send Thrawn to the unexplored regions outside the galaxy.”

“That is good, isn’t it?” Bess asked. “We don’t have to worry about him.”

“You don’t understand. With Thrawn gone, it can only mean that the Emperor feels confident that he will win. He would never send him off-galaxy if he didn’t. Which means that the second death is near completion.”

“We must alert my lady mother and the rest of the rebel leaders. Is there a way we can disguise this as if you found this by accident? They will never believe you if you tell them the truth.”

Ned agreed.  Some of the younger ones had warmed to Lya because she had taught them most of the dirty tricks she had learned from her father’s training and under her training in the Imperial Academy under Hux’s leadership. And she was married to the _“hottest Imperial who actually smiles!”_ -according to some of the girls here- so that scored points in her favor. _And she is the only one who’s managed to beat Doreah Sand-Tyrell in a duel._  
Ned was still angry at her and Owen for being careless, but he meant every word he said. Unlike his folks, he was not going to break his promises. Owen was his best friend and together with Lya, he was now family and he would fight to the death to protect them. If this got out, it would endanger all three of them. In the back of his head, his conscience was racking him, urging him to admit that the other reason why he didn’t want this to get out was because he was worried what people would think of Bess afterwards.  
‘Harlot’ ‘Slut’ ‘Imperial Lover’ ‘Traitor’ -They’d call her. And her mother would be more disappointed in her. In spite of Ned’s personal views, he did not want to see Bess fighting with her mother.

“You can tell them that you found one of their spies. He was looking for Carina, you two quarreled and before he escaped, you managed to get some valuable information out of him.”

“Sounds plausible. Will they buy it, though?”

“They might if you go over the edge.” Bess said, then she slapped him. Ned yelled at her. “No, that won’t do. It has to look as if you were in a real fight. I will call Doreah.”

“No. Are you crazy, woman? She is going to kill me.”

“Aren’t you the big fighter? Woman? Really, lord Eddard? I would have thought you respected your elders better than that. Now stay put and if you want to help us and make it out of this alive, you will have to stand for this. And,” she said before she was out the door. “Do. Not. Call. Me. Woman. Again. Ever.” The door slammed shut behind her.

Ned grinned. Damn, for a former Princess, she knew how to hit hard.

* * *

Yoda sighed. So much hope lost. The future looked bleaker every time he closed his eyes. Jane Kyra Skywalker had embraced her lineage, but it was no use. People didn’t heed her warnings and she was beginning to grow tired as Yoda.

 _Always in motion, the future is_. He used to say to his students.   
Old and young gathered around him, especially the latter, eager to be taught by the nine-hundred-year-old Jedi Master. The children looked up to him, while the old sat and listened. To all of them, Yoda told _them “unlearn what you have learned”_ and _“then you will see.”_ But the young ones had grown more reckless, some of the masters had also become arrogant. Qui-Gon Jinn had insisted on training Anakin Skywalker, with his dying breath, he made his apprentice promise him to devote his life to the former slave. And Master Yoda did not have the heart at the time to say ‘no’.

 _“The Chosen One, the boy may be. Nevertheless, great danger I sense in his training.”_ And right, he was. Anakin Skywalker had destroyed what the Jedi had worked so hard to build and preserve. A thousand generations of history, extinguished overnight.

Yoda saw the faces of the children he killed. Liam, someone who worshiped him and dreamed of becoming like the hero with no fear, was the first one to cry out in fear as Anakin turned on his lightsaber. The boy believed he had been betrayed by the Jedi. Even now as he became Anakin Skywalker again and left his dark persona behind, he was unwilling to admit his mistakes.

And Master Yoda feared what his love for Obi Wan’s daughter would do to him. The ghost of his Padme Amidala had visited him and told him about what had transpired, how she never loved Anakin, and he too, simply loved the idea of her. Known, I should have. Skywalker, perfection, he always sought.  
In contrast, he knew what to expect out of Mary, and Yoda could sense that the man’s feelings for her were genuine. But that did not make them any less dangerous.

Should the lady Mary fall back into the Empire’s clutches, the former dark lord would sacrifice his life for her and in doing so, cause a chain reaction that could potentially lead to all of the Skywalker children into darkness.

Too old, he was for this. _Yes, too old_. Laying back on his bed, he let his body rest. It was too late now to turn back the clock. _The sands of time, upon us, they are._ Yet, he was still a Jedi Master and as such, he would continue to guide them and future Jedi.

* * *

The iron main gate of Jabba’s palace scraped open harshly, oiled only with sand and time. Standing outside in the dusty gale, staring into the black cavernous entranceway, were the Sun Twins.

They were clad in the robes, traditionally seen in the Jedi Knights from the times of the old Republic. The two had not changed their clothes since their fateful encounter with the High Priestess Kinvara. They stood loosely, without bravado, taking a measure of the place before entering. They were no longer children. Man and woman, they were now adults. Wiser brought about by experience and the loss of illusions, dependency, and friends to war.   
There were also other losses that contributed to this. The loss of their hand, in the case of Luke, and the loss of her natural skin, in the case of Jane Kyra.

Although the latter’s had regrown, thanks to multiple growth accelerations techniques, she never felt the same. Her back always felt foreign and like her brother, the two no longer felt human. Like their father, they were part machine now.

But their greatest loss had been that which comes from knowledge -from the deep recognition that they could never un-know what they knew. So many things they wished they’d never learned. They had aged with the weight of this knowledge.

Knowledge brought benefits, of course. They were less impulsive now. Carina had noted, before he left for Tatooine, that he no longer shouted, or spoke out of turn. She told Luke, she loved this new him, but she was also afraid that he was getting closer to where his father had been at his age. Luke promised her that he would never fall like Vader did. Vader was Vader and Luke was Luke. And the same thing went for Jane Kyra. In spite of being bombarded with all those visions, she did not let their darkness consume her, and instead focused on the task at hand, and let her goals for her school -and others she wanted to established across other impoverished sectors of the galaxy- drive her.  
Their respective goals gave them perspective, a framework in which to fit the events of their life -that is, a lattice of space and time coordinates spanning his existence, back to earliest memories ahead to a hundred alternative futures.  
A lattice of depths, and conundrums, and interstices, through which the two siblings could peer at any new event in their lives, peer at it with perspective. But whereas the former’s visions were restricted to their friends, Jane Kyra saw everything but as with her brother, they no longer bothered or scared her.

There were other advantages to knowledge: rationality, etiquette, choice. The second was something they had never appreciated when they had been in the presence of their former master, his lover and the other former queens and royals, including their sisters. Useless, and funny, they had seen it as a waste of time. Now, they saw the value in it. As for choice; to them, it was a double-edge sword, albeit it did have its advantages.  
Furthermore, they were skilled in the craft of the Jedi now, where before they had been merely precocious.

They were more aware now.

These were all desirable attributes, to be sure; and they knew as well as anyone that all things alive must grow. Still, it carried a certain sadness, the sum of all this knowledge. A certain sense of regret. But who could afford to be young and cheerful in times such as these?

Jane sensed her other half-sibling’s happiness. He shined as bright as the largest of the twin suns in Tatooine. Lyanna Targaryen-Stark will make him very happy. _I do not doubt it_. She was almost envious of him. _Almost_. Her half-brother deserved it. After working very hard to win their confidence, and being there for her when Luke wasn’t, there was no other person, who deserved the kind of happiness her brother was feeling at the moment. She knew very little of Lyanna, except what she had seen of her in the holo-news, but she had seen the girl in action, teaching the rebels new moves. When Owen was around her, he was different. More mature, happier. Not his usual sarcastic self, but truly happy.  
When the war was over, she hoped that the two would settle down, and start a family as she and Luke suspected their sisters wish to do.

Resolutely, she and Luke strode into the arching hallway. Almost immediately two Gamorreans stepped up, blocking their paths. One spoke in a voice that did not invite debate. “No chuba!”

Before Luke raised his hand, Jane beat him to it, taking one step forward and waving her hand at the creature. Her action led the two of them to their knees, one of their hands to their throats, choking, gasping. It became Luke’s turn to raise his hand and with one gentle wave, the two fell asleep.

Around the next corner they were met by Bib Fortuna. Fortuna began speaking as he approached the young Jedi, but Luke and Jane Kyra never broke stride, so Bib had to reverse his direction in mid-sentence and hurry along, following the Skywalkers in order to carry on a conversation.

“You must be the ones they call the Sun Twins. His Excellency will not see you.”

“We will speak to Jabba, now,” Luke spoke evenly, never slowing. His sister held her tongue, letting her brother speak, controlling Bib Fortuna’s weaker mind. They had passed several more guards at the next crossing, who fell in behind them.

“The great Jabba is asleep,” Bib explained. “He has instructed me to tell you there will be no bargains-“

Luke stopped suddenly and so did his sister. He motioned to her, speaking at last. Bib locked eyes with her; she raised her hand slightly, took a minute inward turn. “You will take us to Jabba, now.”

Bib paused, tilted his head a fraction. What were his instructions? Oh, yes, now he remembered. “I will take you to Jabba, now.”

“See how easy that was?” Jane Kyra asked, giving him a small smile before turning to Luke, who smiled back at her, pleased with the results.

The two carried on with their journey. This time, they followed Bib who guided them to the throne room.

“You serve your master well.” Jane Kyra said in a low voice.

“I serve my master well.” Bib nodded with conviction.

“You are sure to be rewarded,” She added.

Bib smiled smugly. “I am sure to be rewarded.”

As the three entered Jabba’s court, the level of tumult dropped precipitously as if their presence had a cooling effect. Everyone felt the change.

The lieutenant, Captain and Jedi Knights, approached the throne. Luke and Jane Kyra saw their respective twins seated there, now, by Jabba’s belly. Marion’s head was resting on Leia’s shoulder. Even in their sleep, they looked every bit of the leaders they were raised, Jane Kyra and Luke observed. But that didn’t change the fact that they’d become Jabba’s slaves and were dressed in skimpy costumes of dancing girls. Judging by the way they were positioned, the two guessed that it was more than dancing that they did here.  
As a surge of over-protectiveness rushed through them, so did anger and that reached the two chained royals before they pushed it away.

“Luke.” Leia said, followed by Marion who said “Kyra.” Everyone in the palace realized who they were at once.

Threepio peeked out from behind the throne as Bib walked up. For the first time in many days, the protocol droid scanned his hope program. “Ah! At last Master Luke and Mistress Jane come to take me away from all this horror!”

Bib stood proudly before Jabba. “Master, I present Luke Skywalker and his sister, Jane Kyra Skywalker. Jedi Knights.”

 **“I told you not to admit him.”** Jabba growled in Huttese.

“We must be allowed to speak.” Jane spoke quietly, using the same tone she had used on Bib, though her words were heard throughout the hall.

“They must be allowed to speak,” Bib concurred thoughtfuly.

Jabba, furious, bashed Big across the face and sent him reeling to the floor. **“You weak-minded fool! He’s using an old Jedi mind trick!”**

Luke and Jane let all the rest of the motley horde that surrounded them melt into the recesses of their consciousness, to let Jabba fill their mind totally.  
Giving his sister a look, Jane nodded to Luke and let him be the next one to speak.   
“You will bring Captain Solo and the Wookie to us.”

Jabba smiled grimly. **“Your mind powers will not work on me, boy. I am impressed by your sister’s coyness. You are wilier than the whores in my palace but do not think your face will deceive me. I am not affected by your human thought pattern.”** Then, as an afterthought **: “I was killing your kind when being a Jedi meant something.”**

Jane Kyra was untroubled by his mild insults. Luke however, altered his stance somewhat, internally and externally. “Nevertheless, we will be taking Captain Solo and his friends, including the droids. You can either profit from this … or be destroyed. It’s your choice, but I warn you not to underestimate our powers.” He spoke in his native language which Jabba understood and caused the Hutt to laugh.

**“It should be you and your sister who should not underestimate me, boy.”**

Luke grinned. “You will find I am full of surprises, Jabba.” He said boldly. Jane Kyra made eye contact with the Hutt, daring him to do something. And as the Hutt’s expression changed into what appeared like  a smile, Threepio, who had been observing this interplay, intently, cried out to them: “Master, Mistress, you are standing-“ A guard abruptly restrained the concerned droid but he managed to move one of his arms down, pointing to the trap below.

Jane Kyra furrowed her brow, slowly piecing everything together. But Jabba’s laughter made her look at the Hutt gangster.

**“There will be no bargain, young Jedi. I shall enjoy watching you die.”**

Jane touched Luke’s shoulder and pointed below. Luke raised his hand. A pistol jumped out of the holster of a nearby guard and landed snugly in the Jedi’s palm. Luke pointed the weapon at Jabba.

Jabba spat. “Boscka!”

Jane reacted too late, about to raise her hand and try to pull the strings in Jabba’s head but Jabba had already pushed the button and the floor suddenly dropped away, sending Luke and Jane Kyra and his guard crashing into the pit below. The trapdoor immediately closed again. All the beasts of the court rushed to the floor-grating and looked down.

Leia and Marion cried their siblings’ names. They felt part of their selves torn away, pulled down into the pit with him. Forgetting they were chained, they started forward, but were held in check by the manacle around their throats. Raucous laughter crowded in from everywhere at once, set them on edge. Leia poised to flee, but Marion stopped her. “Not yet.” She hissed, glaring at her sister and best friend. “Do you want us to die when Han and Chewie are still imprisoned?”

“We can’t let Luke and Jane be killed.”

“They won’t. Trust me Leia, I have never lied to you and I never will. Luke and Jane will use the Force, they are well trained in it, and whatever is down there, they will kill it and before this is over, that fat slug will be dead.” Marion promised her. She raised her eyes at said creature who was still laughing. Leia glanced at him as well. Hate surged through them. It had kept them sane thus far, and it would continue to keep them sane.  
“If he hurts them or Han or us-“  
“He won’t.” Marion interrupted, gripping her sister’s hand. “He won’t.” She repeated, remembering her vow days earlier.

Lando, still in disguise, approached them and whispered in their ear, not to lose hope. They would not, they told him. And he was glad to hear it. The two women were the same ones he’d met on Cloud City. Leia briefly mouthed a small ‘thank you’ before he went away. It was now more obvious why Han had fallen for her. In spite of all this, she continued to keep her stoicism.

He felt a surge of relief when he heard the other two Skywalkers, trapped below with Jabba’s guards, call each other. _Trust the Force._ They often preached. But Lando, like his old friend, never believed in anything. But given everyone’s present situation, he was willing to put his money on this Force thing. What more can it hurt? If it worked then it meant that the Jedi were right, and it was real. And if it didn’t, then he and the two remaining Skywalkers, would find another way to get out of here.

They had lived this long, they had no intention of dying in this gods-forsaken planet.

 


	35. A Smile for the Future Dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As our heroes face each other again, questions arise, and so do subtle and not-so-subtle threats. The line between dark and light is not so clear anymore, and for the first time, they understand the meaning of survival. While at the rebel headquarters, each discuss the possible aftermath of the galactic civil war.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of the dialogue is taken from the movie Return of the Jedi and the novelization of that movie -as before. I recommend listening to Who We Are by Imagine Dragons for this chapter. Although it ends with another cliffhanger, it is intentional as next chapter will be mental.

_“Up in the morning_  
_up in the evening_  
 _picking down talks when the birds get back to feed_  
 _oh to me_  
 _up in the mountains_  
 _down in the King’s den_  
 _pushing these boxes in the heat of the afternoon_  
 _oh afternoon,_  
 _we were never welcome here_  
 _we were never welcome here at all_

 _It is who we are_  
 _doesn’t matter if we’ve gone too far_  
 _doesn’t matter if it’s all ok_  
 _doesn’t matter if it’s not our day_  
 _save us_  
 _what we are_  
 _don’t look clear_  
 _it’s all uphill from here”_  
**~Who We Are by Imagine Dragons**  


Obi Wan asked for his daughter’s whereabouts. She was usually out, sitting on the same bench during the day of the great goddess. It was a popular festival in jungle worlds like Yavin IV. There were rare exceptions of course. Earth’s jungles boasted of many tribes who celebrated more than one deity. Mary having been a Christian, didn’t take part in the “heathen” celebrations. Not because they were heathen, but because she no longer believed in an Almighty force. This saddened him. Catherine’s enduring feature, other than her beauty, was her strength (which derived from her fierce belief in god). To hear Mary speak so negatively of faith was therefore alien to him and her mother.

He knocked. The door slid opened to reveal Mary. She was dressed simply but her pregnant form was very visible. He felt guilty for wishing that the war would last until his grandson was old enough to walk and utter his first words. It was selfish, but he had never been the perfect Jedi -despite what Anakin and the rest claimed. He wanted to hold his grandson in his arms without the fear of endanger him or alienating him and his grandmother.

On his way inside he sensed Anakin’s presence nearby. Oh boy. He hoped that he would be wise enough not to cause a stir. The last thing all three of them needed was added stress brought forth by Anakin’s accusation.

As the door slid behind him, he was hit by distant memories that didn’t entirely belonged to him.

_“Gene-editing.” The red priestess explained to her partner. “It was quick. They have replaced his defective traits with perfect ones.”_

_“It doesn’t sound right.” He said. He looked down at her swollen stomach._

_“It is too late. The process has already started.” She put his hands on her stomach. He felt the baby kick several times until he stopped. “How are you so sure it will be a boy? These alien entities can’t know everything. Only those who worship the one true god, can.” He told her, withdrawing his hands slowly from her belly._

_“They do.” She assured them. “Their master at least does.” She added when he was about to voice protest. “If Plagueis can control them, it is because he has gained knowledge beyond this galaxy, possibly beyond this plane of reality. Did our ancient priests and priestesses not say that there was more than one way to achieve greatness?”_

_“Yes.” He admitted. “But, what if some things are not meant to be achieved? Just think of what life will await this child? People will think he is a freak and if the prophecy of the one who was promised is upon us, he will be seen as an abomination. The opposite of our savior.”_

_“Maybe not. The prophecy speaks that the one who was promised will come from a great line with a great protector by its side. Perhaps our child will be that prophesized protector.”_

_“Prophecies are not always right. Suppose that this child is special and it is the one that was promised protector. What then? Will he ever have a life? Love?”_

_She chuckled softly. “You think too much my dear lord. You introduced me to the one true god and it is because of that, that I am doing this. For the future of our religion and for the future of this world.”_

**_~o~_ **

_“You can’t take the child away. He is ours!” She screamed._

_“Diana, it is alright. We can’t stop them!” Ben-Amin Kenobi shouted. “It is okay, calm down. We will be fine. We foresaw this. Yes?” She nodded. The two of them watched as the Jedi took their child away._

_She fell asleep after an hour of weeping. Plagueis’ plan had failed. His followers were dead and the Jedi, despite being ignorant of his identity, had taken their son. ‘Perhaps it is for the best’ He thought. ‘After all, the prophecy says that the one who was promised will have a guardian. It has to be our Obi Wan.’ Choosing his son’s name had not been easy. It was the name of the first great heretic. The great reformer -among some clandestine red priests and priestess’ circles- who had defied the First Temple of Asshai and called for reform. Diana said that she wanted to name him after one of the kings from her native Scotland but he told her that was too obvious. In the end, he had his way and blessed by the red god’s protection, he was given the name of Obi Wan.  
‘And now he is gone.’ He had seen him in the flames. A fine young man coming home, falling in love with a woman who belonged to another. Together they begat a child whose descendants would be amongst the most powerful Force-sensitives, with the potential to cause destruction or be the galaxy’s salvation._

_‘Until then, my son.’_

**~o~**

Obi Wan had stored the last memories of his dark encounter with his parents in the farthest recesses of his mind. Being around his daughter again, brought them back. Using the names of his father and grandfather, he had gone undercover with his master Qui-Gon Jinn, when he was an apprentice, to Earth. There, he met Catherine. It was love at first sight. His master had warned him not to get too close with her but being the impetuous youth that he was, he didn’t listen.  
On the night they declared their love for one another, he sensed Arthur’s presence nearby. The anger of the boy was almost intoxicating, but Obi Wan paid him no heed and continued to kiss her.  
When the Prince of Wales died, he returned, and found his parents working on England to convert others to their faith. They told Obi Wan about the prophecy of the chosen one, about their prophecy, and his role in it. He refused to hear it and told them that he wanted nothing to do with that.  
He didn’t think of them again until today.

Sitting next to his daughter, the lady Mary, he placed his hand on top of her. “There is something I wanted to give you when you came.” He took a white box from within his robes and thrust it in her free hand.

“What is it?” Mary asked, curious.

“Open it, you’ll see.”

She did and was surprised to see a glowing red jewel. “Is this?” She looked at him in puzzlement. He nodded. “But how? Anakin said that there was no trace of your parents.”

“Your _husband_ only knows what he read on the Imperial archives. My parents were very much alive during the times of the clone wars. When Anakin and his apprentice visited the court of Henry VIII, I was visiting Spain where there were report of some disturbance. I found them in Toledo, spreading the word of the red god. They were surprised to see me as I was to see them.” He told her. “They told me that something terrible was coming and I needed to stop it.”

“Anakin.”

“No. Something worse. They considered Anakin as their savior, in their eyes, nothing he did could be considered wrong.”

“I thought Jon Targaryen and Daenerys were their saviors.”

“For some of them, they were; but a select few in Europe and those in the Americas, firmly believed it was Anakin. Had they survived, they would have allied themselves with Melisandre and looked for ways to convince me to do the same. Anyway, they said that there was a great darkness coming and that they would not be there for when it came and neither would I.” He said gravely.

Mary blinked. She looked down. What could she say? Her mother had raised her and Henry VIII, for all his faults, had played a part in her rearing as well. In contrast, Obi Wan Kenobi was never there. Whenever he was, he was there simply to see his mother or to oversee Earth’s monarchs’ continued loyalties to the old republic. Yet, hearing her father speak of his death in such a calm way made her sad.  
She looked at him again and pushing his hand away, she grabbed the jewel and put it on his lap. “I can’t accept this. It is yours. It is your legacy.”

“No. I never knew my parents. They gave me up when the Jedi threatened to disclose their secret alliance with the Sith to their superiors. When I saw them again, I never felt close to them. Why should I? They didn’t raise me and their goals were different than mine. I understand how you feel.” He said, taking the jewel and placing it back in her hand. “Because I have been there and without realizing it, Catherine and I became just like them. Your mother wanted you to become queen and I was afraid to acknowledge you because I had my career to think of. My point is, nobody prepares us to be parents and sometimes we end up becoming like them. I failed Anakin because I wasn’t ready to be his master and I failed you as well for the same reasons but I know you won’t repeat our mistakes with this one. Owen is proof of that.”

She was deeply overwhelmed. She set the Jewel in the spot next to her then twined her arms around her father’s neck. “Thank you.”

“It will be alright. Whatever happens, I will be with you … Always.” Obi Wan said, once again haunted by what his parents foretold and his dark visions.

**~o~**

Anakin was hearing outside his and Mary’s bedroom. When Obi Wan exited, Anakin commended him for his kind words and asked if what he said about his parent’s visions were true. Obi Wan nodded.

Anakin shrugged. He was wearing a dark jacket. The installations were cold during the summer because of the humidity outside. Although they could adjust the room temperature, it rarely bothered them but today it did. “When?”

“When I visited Spain-“

“When did they say this would happen?”

Obi Wan smiled sadly. “I can’t answer that.”

“Why not? This is your life Obi Wan. Are you going to leave your daughter and Catherine at the mercy of the Emperor or worse, Arthur?” He hit a chord, Obi Wan looked at him in anger. “If you are gone who will be there to protect them? I am not the chosen one anymore and Arthur doesn’t play by the same rules, he will find them regardless of how many people he has to kill and that includes my offspring.”

“I know the danger but I can’t stop my fate any more than I can stop you and Mary from leaving after this is over.”

“Still the same Jedi Master. You just follow whatever the Force or others tells you. You don’t stop and think that maybe there is a way to stop prophecy.”

“You have no idea what I have sacrificed for my loved ones Anakin.”

“Oh but I do. You prided yourself in being the dutiful Jedi and criticized me for every little thing I did because deep down I was the living reminder of the failure you were when you were an apprentice and then a Jedi Knight. Mary might have opened her heart to you, but I will never forgive you for what you did to me and her.” He said walking closer to him. Obi Wan showed no fear. He expected this from his former apprentice. “It is one thing that you broke your promise to Padme. She was dead. She couldn’t do a thing. But Mary? You forced her to part from her own children. My children.”

“What did you want me to do Anakin? Hmm? Deliver them into your hands? The hands of the Emperor’s slave.”

“I was their father. It was my duty to raise them.”

“Duty.” Obi Wan hissed. “You dare talk to me about duty when you are the one who lied to my daughter, told her that you were going to make her happy while you were married to Padme and chose to believe the lies her family fed you over what she said.”

“I was young and I wasn’t the only one. You believed them as well, or else why would you force her to part with her daughters? Face it Obi Wan, you hated her. Even now you cannot admit it to yourself. You hated Mary because she reminded you that you were not perfect. That you had erred and you were the same with me because you were afraid I became a disgrace like you.”

“And I was right. I might be many things Anakin but I always chose duty over love while you didn’t know the difference between the two. It was your actions that led Padme to her death and Mary to her despair. All because you didn’t want to face the consequences of your actions because you were afraid you’d lose them like you lost your mother.”

“How dare you mention my mother-“

“I saw into Mary’s mind when she fell asleep on my arms moments ago. You had taken her to Tatooine to show her your mother’s grave and your stepbrother treated her horribly and she asked you ‘why?’ many times until Padme came and told her the truth and she broke in tears. You weren’t brave enough to tell the truth to either of them.”

“Like you and Satine.”

“Do not change the conversation Anakin.” Obi Wan said, annoyed that Anakin had dared to bring Satine.

“How many times did you spend with the Duchess of Mandalore, Obi Wan? Four, five, six times each year?”

“Stop it.”

“I wonder if Catherine knew you were playing beneath the sheets while she was in Kimbolton Castle, dying.”

“I loved Satine.”

“And I loved Padme.” Anakin said back. He chuckled at Obi Wan’s angry expression. “Two hypocrites hailed as the great saviors and masterminds of good and evil.”

“You were the master of evil Anakin. A part of me still believes you are. I can forgive you for what you did because it is my duty as a Jedi but I can’t forget it. The faces of the younglings when they watched a man they idolize turn on his lightsaber, the realization they were about to die was too much for me.”

“Do you want an apology?”

“No, Anakin because let us be realistic here for once. I am not going to get one from you and you have no intention of apologizing in what you believed was the right thing to do.”

“I was right. The Jedi overstepped their boundaries. It was a corrupt and decadent institution that was fated to die.”

“It was fated to survive. The Jedi kept the peace.” Obi Wan said strongly.

“The Jedi helped slavers and corrupt politicians. When was the last time one of them helped a beggar or a poor man find his missing daughter?”

“The Jedi could not be everywhere. That is why the Republic stood in its place.”

“And yet many defected to the Separatists and joined the Empire after Sidious’ revelation. Most of them were those poor wretched souls who lived at the mercy of corrupt politicians, pimps and other terrible people the Jedi protected.”

“And I suppose the alternative is much better? Killing people at random so everyone else can learn their lesson.”

“If it means maintain order then yes.”

Obi Wan shook his head and looked away in disgust.

“You can disapprove all you want Obi Wan but you came from where I came from, you would see things differently.”

“I have been in the trenches Anakin. I have seen the same things you have and while I have not experienced hardship as you have, I have had my fair share of sorrow and every time I felt close to killing Maul, and everyone else who’d taken something from me, I restrained myself.” Obi Wan said. “Not because it was the Jedi way, but because I had seen where anger had taken many people I once held dear.”

Obi Wan then turned around and left. When Anakin entered the room he found Mary, having awoken minutes ago, with the red jewel hanging from a silver chain with a string wrapped around it to hold it tight. “How does it look?” Mary asked him.

“It looks beautiful.” He said, smiling to hide his discomfort from the talk he had with her father.

When he was young he was everything that Obi Wan inferred he was. Impatient, indolent fool who lived for the admiration of others, and held himself as the warrior of everything that was pure and just. After he became Vader, his dreams died and he saw himself for the first time as the wretched soul he was, and began to see others for who they really were.  
When the rebels walked away from him, or whispered his back, or cowered in fear, he showed indifference. What people thought of him no longer mattered, but Mary was another matter entirely. He cared for her in ways he had never cared for another person, even his mother and he was willing to do anything to keep her and her unborn child safe.

* * *

Owen touched his chin, making a funny sound as he chewed his food with his open mouth. “You are disgusting Owen, you really are.” Ned said, trying not to laugh at his friend’s ridiculous antics, unfortunately he was failing miserably as Bess teased him, calling him a “human droid” for refusing to laugh.

“I just do not see the humor in it. There are people dying all over the galaxy, possibly the universe if there is more intelligent life out there, and yet you want me laugh.”

“It is called having fun, you used to do it.” Bess said, gesturing to his sister who came into the recreation room to come and join them. “Your brother loves to ruin everyone’s fun.”

“He has always been like that. When we were six, he refused to laugh at the only joke our lady grandmother, Lady Stoneheart made. It saddened all the other kids in the room.” Lya said.

“That is not entirely true.” Ned said.

“It is. You said ‘I do not find that funny my lady grandmother’ in that somber tone of yours. I am surprised you didn’t turn down all your admirers.”

“Ha-ha, very funny sister.”

“There it is! He is finally smiling. Bravo!” Everyone in the room, minus Ned, laughed.

“I seriously do not see why we must act this way when there are serious matters at hand. What if the Princess, and lady Marion ‘I am so great’ and the Sun Twins mission fails? What then? Sir Thomas Seymour will shoot me and Lya and probably Owen too, and his connections won’t be enough to save him from the rebels’ wrath except Lord Vader but he is no longer the dark lord of the Sith, so there you go.”

“Do not be so gloomy. The Sun Twins will do fine. At least Owen’s sister will.” Lya said, slapping her husband’s back. “You said she was busy dueling with you before she went back to Tatooine.”

“She was and she is also busy on that new school of hers.”

“School? What school?” Bess asked. Owen told her about the educational centers she had opened in her home-planet, and the many destitute young people she had invited to stay.

“Most of her funds and the money she’s got, has been poured there and people chip in whenever there is need. It is astounding.”

“You have been there?”

“Once. The children are great and they are eager to learn. I taught a few classes for a month. They are very receptive.” Owen said, smiling as he remembered one in particular who asked all kinds of questions.

“I should visit there too, after the war of course. Ned here can tell them all about gloominess.”

“Do not start again.” Ned groaned.

“I am serious. If they want to be gloomy gentlemen, you would have loads to teach them.” Lya said and before he voiced protest, she added “Including your fighting skills which are enviable even amongst this unruly lot.”

Ned lowered his eyes, then raised them and thanked her.

“Why am I just hearing about this now?” Bess asked.

“Well, this is just my opinion but knowing how my other sister is a bitch she probably did not think it wise of mentioning it because she would have gone and opened her mouth to our dearest rebel Highness, Princess Leia.”

“Ouch. That is too harsh of you.” Lya said. “But true.”

Bess shook her head. “The Princess and the Lady Marion are difficult …” she said, biting her tongue as she was about to admit some unwanted truths “…but they love the rebels and they are true idealists but they are also pragmatists and what they do, is what they know it is best for their cause.”

Bess sighed, adding “And that is why they are the figures of the rebellion besides Luke and Kyra. And …” she paused then said with a tone of finality. “… why the people love them.”

“Then the people are stupid.” Ned said, unwilling to praise those two women.

“You must admit people’s good traits even when they are horrible people. Not that they are but they are insufferable, unforgiving and much else but they are devoted to the cause and they have sacrificed a lot for it.”

“So have many others.” Ned said. “The Lady Marion thinks she is special because she happened to know the truth about her parents and the Princess Leia went on about how her father tortured them. Lord Vader tortured many people, most of which were not innocent. Lady Marion and Princess Leia killed men of our own. They did not shed tears for the millions of people their prized fighters and the latter’s boyfriend killed when they blew up the death star.”

“They are hurt. They lost their entire planet. Imagine how you would feel if you knew the man who caused you all that pain was your true father and … the woman who laughed as you writhed on the floor was your mother.”

“That is too bad. But the truth is, I am not them, none of us are and I will never shed a tear for any of them.” Ned said and looked at Owen and Lya who did not say a thing, although their silence told Bess everything.

She sighed. “The longer you keep hating them, the less you will be at peace.”

Ned said nothing at that. Neither did his sister and brother-in-law who remained silent again. They did not trust the rebellion and had no wish to see a new republic after the empire fell, but they knew they had no choice but to accept their new fates.

* * *

In the pit below, Luke and Jane picked themselves up off the floor. They found they were now in a large cave-like dungeon, the walls formed of craggy boulders pocked with lightless crevices. The half-chewed bones of countless animals were strewn over the floor, smelling of decayed flesh and twisted fear.

Twenty-five feet above him, in the ceiling, he saw the iron grating through which Jabba’s repugnant courtiers peered.

The guard besides him suddenly began to scream uncontrollably, as a door in the side of the cave slowly rumbled open.

“Shit.” Jane Kyra said, taking Luke’s hand. The two backed away, becoming increasingly calm as they heard the sound of the monster, and the terrible rumble of its footsteps.

The two removed their Jedi dark tunics to give them more freedom of movement and backed against the wall.

The giant rancor came into full view and grabbed the screeching guar and bit him, taking his head off and swallowing it in one gulp. It was clearly a mutant, wild as all unreason. A freak of nature who had been the product of in-breeding. One of Jabba’s many pet experiments.

The rancor then turned and started for the sun twins. But the two Jedi Knights leaped eight meters straight up and grabbed onto the overhead grate. The crowd began to boot.

“Jane, the door.” Luke shouted and Jane Kyra nodded, jumping down. Rolling on the floor then focusing her energy on the rocks and using her telekinetic powers to throw one of them unto the control panel. The rock didn’t reach the panel though. As she turned and saw that Luke wasn’t done, she held the rock in mid air, until Luke released his hold on the creature’s collar and dropped directly onto the eye of the howling monster; tumbling to the floor.

Luke had done something to its collar which sent shocks through its body but it was not enough to kill it. Using a Force push, the monster moved closer to the head of the opened gate from which it came. Still close to Luke, it grabbed him and brought him to its salivating mouth.

You are not touching him, you disgusting creature. Jane Kyra thought and without anyone noticing, red sparks like fire came from her fingertips, ruby red, and she aimed at the creature’s eyes which caused him to drop her brother and fall down.

Thinking it was all him, Luke yelled at Jane Kyra to throw the rock at the control panel. Jane Kyra did as he told her and the panel exploded in a shower of sparks, and the giant iron gate overhead came crashing down on the rancor’s head, crushing it like an axe smashing through a ripe forest fruit.

Those in the audience above gasped as one, then were silent. They were all truly stunned at this bizarre turn of events. They all looked to Jabba, who was apoplectic with rage. Never had he felt such fury. Leia tried to hide her delight, but was unable to keep from smiling, and this increased Jabba’s anger even further. Harshly he snapped at his guards: “Get him and the witch out of here! Bring me Solo and the Wookie. They will all suffer for this outrage.”

The crowd had been too busy focusing their attention at the rancor and the poor soul it was about to eat, that they did not see the ruby red sparks come from his half-sister’s fingertips. All except one. Marion and Jabba had seen and the latter more than ever, wished to be rid of the Jedi and his sister witch.

In the pit below, Luke and Jane Kyra stood calmly as several of Jabba’s henchmen ran in, clapped them in bonds, and ushered them out.

The rancor keeper wept openly and threw himself down on the body of his dead pet. Life would be a lonely proposition for him from that day.

* * *

After Bess returned to her room, she found her mother seated next to her desk, patiently waiting for her. “Congratulations. They analyzed your boyfriend’s report and they agree that it is time to plan an attack. That is until we have reinforcements and more recruits. The Second Death Star is not completed yet after all and it will take years before it has the fire power that the first one had.”

“But surely you can convince them. It is a matter of life and death. What if they are wrong and the second death star is more powerful than the first. You heard what Ned said.”

“My dear Bess, I did not come here to argue about what he said. I trust in the others’ judgment as should you. I came here because I am concerned you are growing too fond of that young man.” Anne said, rising up and walking towards her. “I know how confusing this whole thing is but do not forget. He is an Imperial and whether or not what he said is true, he will always be one at heart. Listen to your mother Bess, I know these things.”

“He is not Henry VIII, mother.” Bess said, completely serious. Anne frowned at that. “You said it yourself, he has his reasons for being here, but I beg to differ with you on the latter. He is no traitor. He doesn’t love the rebellion but he has no more love for the Empire.”

“A man who feels betrayed by everyone is a danger to himself and others. I know about his wife, the Naberries told us all about it and so did his sister and brother-in-law.”

“Then you know why he has no love for the Rebellion. Yet he is still here. So that must count for something.”

“It does. He lives. That should be proof enough of our mercy.” Anne said sharply. She sighed and softened her tone. “I want what is best for you Bess. I worry about you. I do not want you chasing after dreams.”

“I am not a dreamer, mother. I have never been one, despite what you have always maintained about me.” Bess said, surprising her mother. “It doesn’t take a genius to know what her lady mother thinks of her naïve daughter.”

“I never said you were naïve.”

“But you think of it. I see it every time you look at me. You are afraid I will make your mistakes. And so is Catherine and Jane but none of you have to be worried about any of us. If I make mistakes, there will be my mistakes and I will face the consequences. My relationship with Ned is none of your business or anyone else’s, and where it leads us, is our business.”

Anne looked down then raised her head, meeting her daughter’s brown eyes _. Brown just like mine. When did she grow up?_ It was as if she had missed a huge chunk of her life. For the first time, Anne was looking at her daughter not as a child, but as the grown woman that she was.

She placed a hand on her cheek. “Just be careful, that is all I ask.”

“I will be and you will always be there for me, but you need not worry about me. I will be fine.”

* * *

Han and Chewie were led before the steaming Jabba.  Han still squinted and stumbled every few feet. Threepio stood behind the Hutt, unbearably apprehensive. Jabba kept the two royal rebel leaders on a short tether, taking turns with each of them, stroking their hair to try to calm himself. A constant murmuring filled the room, as the rabble speculated on what was going to happen to whom.

With a flurry, several guards -including Lando Calrissian- dragged Luke and Jane Kyra in across the room. To give them passage, the courtiers parted like an unruly sea. When the sun twins were standing before the throne, Luke nudged Solo with a smile while Jane Kyra winked at him. “Good to see you again, old buddy.”

“Glad you came back to us.” Jane Kyra added.

Solo’s face lit up. There seemed to be no end to the number of friends he kept bumping into. “Luke! Jane! Are you in this mess now, too?”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Luke said smiling.

“For anything in the galaxy.” His sister finished for him. For just a moment the two felt like two naïve teens racing each other across the sand dunes outside their uncle’s moisture farm.

“Well, how we doing?” Han raised his eyebrows.

“Same as always,” said Luke.

“With some improvements. Old hokey-pokey nonsense. Nothing you’d fancy.”

“In that you are right, sweetheart. When Chewie told me you two were Jedis, I didn’t want to believe it.” After what seemed like an eternity of a pause, he asked: “What about my old man and aunt Jane? How they holding up?”

Luke and Jane Kyra looked at each other.

“What? It can’t be that bad. You two go across the galaxy and everyone else is suddenly changing sides, accepting former Imperials, what can be more surprising than that?”

“You would be surprised.” Luke said.

“What my brother means to say is that … your father …has missed you.”

“Let me guess. Old ‘I hate my son but I want him back’ crap?”

Luke and Jane Kyra rolled their eyes. _Same old Han._ “Not like that, Han. He really missed you. He was a total wreck the first year. Your aunt took control of most of the rebel operations back on earth with help of lady Anne and lady Catherine.”

“Now that is a surprise.” Though not too much. His aunt had always been an authority figure back in Corellia. It was good to hear she was no longer afraid to issue orders to spoiled brats and dream-filled teens, who probably never saw a blaster in their lives or knew anything about Earth. “Aunt Jane always had it in her. And my cousins?”

“Miriam and Cassie are fine and can’t wait to see you and put pink lipstick on you for being gone so long.” Jane Kyra said, telling him what his two cousins made her promise to tell him when she saw him.

Han chuckled. “That is Miriam and Cassie alright. Where is Leia and Marion though? Is Leia alright? Is she …”

Leia’s eyes had been fixed on him from the moment he’d entered the room, though-guarding his spirit with her own. When he spoke of her now, she responded instantly, calling from her place on Jabba’s throne. “I’m all right, but I don’t know how much longer Marion and I can hold off your slobbering friend, here.” She was intentionally cavalier, to put Solo at ease. And for that, her half-sibling and best friend admired and sympathized with her more. She touched her hand, telling her by her look alone that she had done well. Then Marion looked down at her sister, her half-brother Luke and her friend Han, and Lando and Chewie too. The sight of them made Marion feel invincible again.

Suddenly however, Jabba shouted; the entire room was immediately silent. **“Talk droid!”**

Timidly, Threepio stepped forward and with an embarrassed, self-effacing head gesture, addressed the captives. “His High Exaltedness, the great Jabba the Hutt, has decreed that you are to be terminated immediately.”

Solo said loudly, “That’s good, I hate long waits!”

“Your extreme offense against His Majesty,” Threepio went on, “demands the most torturous form of death …”

“No sense in doing things halfway as my old man used to say. Or he did until he discovered I was in bed with the most popular girl at school when I was fifteen,” Solo cracked.

“You did what?!” Leia asked. Though she was chained along with her half-sibling, and felt brave to call Jabba names, and was glad to see her love again; she couldn’t help but be angry at this revelation. “You nerf herder!”

“Oh come on, like you didn’t suspect that before.”

“You said Sir Thomas kicked you out because of your big mouth.”

“That did play a part, but it was not all that played a part although my mouth was involved there.”

Marion buried her hand in her hand. “Seriously, Solo?! Now of all places we have to hear your lewd stories? Does your depravity know no ends?”

“Not for you sweetheart. If your sister is going to see me die, I want her to at least have an image of me naked, as the big conqueror, rather than being shot to death by one of this fat slug’s cronies.”

“Point taken.” Marion said, hating that she had to agree with her (hopefully) future brother-in-law in this.

“Marion!”

“Leia, if he is going to die, might as well be bold.” Marion said, suddenly thinking back to the women who raised her and wondering if before they died, Cersei had something snappy to say. _Knowing my lady grandmother, she probably did_.

“Will you three shut up!”

“I am surprised Doreah isn’t here or this would be a complete circus.” Luke said, adding to her sister’s plea for the three of them to stop.

“Jane and Luke darling, it was so good to find we are related but don’t intervene!”

“Yeah kids, stay out of this. This is family business.” Han said, echoing Marion’s plea.

“We are family here.” Luke pointed out, signaling to him and Jane Kyra.

“We are talking about sex kids and we know you two have been into each other but-“

“Hey.” Jane Kyra said, glaring at Han.

“Luke, Jane, we all know.” Leia said then added seeing the visible concern in their eyes. “Not everyone in the base, but Master Kenobi, Queens Catherine, Jane, Anne and myself, Marion and Han and a few others, we know.”

“And you never said a thing?” Luke asked confused. “Does Carina know?”

“Luke, she does. She is a former Imperial not an idiot.” Marion told her.

Luke groaned. This was turning into his worst nightmare. I will give anything to go back into the Rancor’s pit. Having your head torn off by that thing didn’t sound too bad now.

Han chuckled and guided by his ears, he raised his arm and slapped Luke in the back. “Light up kid, it is not too bad. We are in normal galaxy space here. As normal as you can get. Not on earth where everyone is mister goody-two-shoes.”

“That makes us feel so much better.” Jane Kyra said. “You forget this is Tatooine where that is frowned upon.”

“Yeah and Tatooine is frowned upon by everyone, except maybe Earth. That place is a dump.” Han said, and most, including some of Jabba’s minions who were entertained by all the drama played before them, nodded.

“In that you are right.” One of Jabba’s minions said.

“Thank you!” Han said to whoever that mysterious foe was. At least someone was giving him credit. Even if that someone happened to be one of Jabba’s minions.

Han turned to Luke and Jane Kyra, assuming she was standing next to him as her voice sounded father than Luke’s, yet not too far. “Luke at it this way. You had a good time. You knew what it was like, you were not led by stupid terrestrial and religious conventions and now you are free to see other people and best of all, you are still friends.”

“Solo you really have a big mouth but you are right on that one.” Marion said, speaking for her sister who rolled her eyes at the former smuggler again.

As everyone went back and forth, Threepio continued talking. Making brief pauses when Master Han, Mistress Leia and Mistress Marion talked. He hated being interrupted. Humans were such insufferable creatures at times; but as a protocol droid, it was within his programming to put up with these kinds of things.  
“You will be taken to the Dune Sea, where you will be thrown into the Great Pit of Carkoon…”

Han shrugged, then turned to Luke and Jane Kyra. “That doesn’t sound too bad.”

Threepio ignored the interruption. “… the resting place of all powerful Sarlacc. In his belly you will find a new definition of pain and suffering, as you slowly digest for a thousand years.”

“On second thought we could pass on that,” Solo reconsidered. A thousand years was a bit much. _I already had an eternity of hearing blah-blah from my old man, I don’t want to add a thousand years being digested by some sand freak._

Chewie barked his whole-hearted agreement.

Luke and Jane Kyra only smiled, thanking the Force that out of all this misery, Threepio’s announcement of their fate, had put an end to their previous pointless discussion.

“You should have barined, Jabba. This is the last mistake you will ever make.” Luke was unable to suppress the satisfaction in his voice. He found Jabba despicable -a leech of the galaxy, sucking the life from whatever he touched. Luke wanted to burn the villain, and so was actually rather glad Jabba had refused to bargain -for now Luke would get his wish precisely. Of course, his and his sister’s primary objective was to free their friends, whom he loved dearly; it was this concern that guided him now, above all else. But in the process, to free the universe of this gangster slug -this was a prospect that tinted Luke’s purpose with an ever-so-slightly dark satisfaction.

Jane Kyra for her part felt a power she had discovered in her years of training with Luke, resurging and she wanted to use it to help their friends. She had no wish to see this fiend burn. There were many crime lords on Tatooine. If you got rid of Jabba someone worse would take his place, yet, sensing her brother’s wishes, she knew it was too late to turn back now. Jabba would die, and as a consequence someone would take up his place. His nephew perhaps, or his son. Whoever it was, would show no mercy to anyone on this planet. This increased her conviction to fight for the rebellion. If they won, they could help these systems and imprison many of these crime lords, starting with the Hutts, or in the worst case scenario, work with them, forcing them to turn to legitimate means of production; legalizing spice (in small quantities) and making life easier for those at the bottom who always were targeted by this being and his cronies.

Jabba chortled evilly **. “Take them away.”** At last, a bit of pure pleasure on an otherwise dreary day -feeding the Sarlacc was the only thing he enjoyed as much as feeding the Rancor.  
He’d tell his guards to start with the sun twins, especially the witch. In his short years, studying his mother, he had seen many things. One of the things the Hutts hated the most were _strange beings_ like the Jedi and the red priests. There were not many. Like the Jedi, their numbers had decreased rapidly following the formation of the Galactic Empire. Those that had survived were in hiding, working with the rebellion or were imprisoned by the Empire. Jabba had seen one of these red wizards and witches summon a demon to kill one of his guards. Although this Skywalker bitch did not have a red jewel on her, he had seen with his own eyes how sparks flew out of her hands. Ruby red, the same color as the jewel those priests wore.  
In a short while they would die, she and her Jedi brother. The last two remaining pieces of two ancient orders.

A loud cheer rose from the crowd as the prisoners were carried off. Leia looked after them with great concern; her sister caught a glimpse of Luke and Jane Kyra’s faces. Marion was stirred to see they were still fixed in a broad genuine smile. She sighed deeply, to expel her doubts while Leia turned around at the slimy fat slug. She did not know how, but the Princess was going to free herself and Marion from this if their friends and her love were unable to. _And when we are free, that scumbag is going to wish he never laid hands on us._


	36. Land of Gods and Monsters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our heroes put their plan into motion, freeing themselves of the dangerous gang-lord, but in the process they lose someone.

_“Someday I will walk away_  
_and say: You disappoint me_  
 _Maybe you are better off this way_  
 _Come here and face me_  
 _don’t play dead,_  
 _I know you can hear me_  
 _because one day_  
 _one day I will walk away_  
 _and say: You fucking disappoint me_  
 _maybe you are better off this way!_  
 _Go ahead and play dead_  
 _I know you can hear me!_  
 _Why can’t you turn against me?_  
 _You fucking disappoint me!.”_  
**~Passive by Perfect Circle**

_"It seems as if the turning point for the fate of the galaxy started when a certain lady was taken from her loved ones. As to which Lady I am referring to, I need not to be too explicit for everyone knows her name. She infamous. Some believe that her spirit lives on through her descendants, while others wish that there was confirmation of her death. Wherever she resides, whether in the world of the living or the death, it cannot be refuted, the outrageous claims that she was a power-driven maniac whose only purpose was to acquire more power. This could explain her infatuation with two tyrants. First, Lord Vader, then Arthur of the House of Tudor, then Lord Vader again."  
**~The Definitive Space Chronicle by Lady-Lt. Colonel Tyrell**_

 

“Sir.” Arthur turned to his aide. He handed him a blue folder with information on his former lover. “We have found her.”

“Assemble the Alpha team. Send a message to Grand Admiral Thrawn. Tell him to call off the search.”

“Yes sir, but the time it will take for him to receive the message-“

“I said, do it Corporal.”

“Yes sir.”

Arthur wasn’t going to let that traitor and former Jedi and Force bastard raise his child. As for Owen, the report said that he and his wife would be flying to the Rebel Space station near Lothal along with other officers, including Jon and Sansa’s only son. He couldn’t afford to blow up this operation by going after both. So he had to decide and as much as he hated her, he chose Mary. _Because unlike Owen, she is the key to getting Catherine._ He would not be without Catalina much longer. Going to his chambers before he geared up for his mission, he looked at her portrait. _So beautiful._ She was perfect. _And that Jedi stole her from me_. He had killed Henry and enjoyed it. Watching his brother die was the most pleasurable experience -next to remembering how Catalina felt- of his life.

As he savored the memory, on cue, his dead brother appeared. He was as he remembered him from his first life. A boy of nine. Innocent with chubby cheeks and lean body.

“Do not do it Arthur. Please do not do it.”

“Harry, always a nuisance.” Arthur said, smiling to himself as he relived the assassination of his younger brother. “You always wanted what you couldn’t have and when you finally did, you disrespected her and treated her like she was some commoner. In fact, you abandoned her for one. I was meant to be her husband and you, you and that Jedi stole her from me.”

“We did not, Artie. You died and our father sent me here to tell you that what you are doing is wrong. Grandmother and mother are concerned for you too. Please do not do this. I love you, I always have.” He took his brother’s hand and looked at him with pleading eyes. “I know you’ve done terrible things to my daughter but I still love you and I have forgiven you.”

“Good, because I do not forgive you and she is not your daughter. She never was. Tell grandmother and mother I am going to enjoy fucking their reincarnated ancestress every second until she loses her sanity. Maybe I will cut out her tongue so I don’t have to hear either of them from her pretty little mouth.”

“Artie, this is not you. You are a good person, you taught me how to be a man.”

“Apparently I failed. I am not the one who should be chastised. Unlike you, I never killed anyone that didn’t deserve to be killed and if it weren’t for our damn ancestress, I would have never reduced Catalina to a piece of chattel like you did when you were married to her.”

“What I did was wrong but so was she. She lied to me and you, she sinned as much as she did.”

“One good look at you and our father would have known that they should have drowned your fat little ass the moment you were born. I would have done it if I didn’t love you.”

“Artie-“

“Stop calling me Artie and get out of here!” He said yanking his hand off and throwing his ghostly little brother to the floor.

Harry spilled some tears but not enough for him to be moved. “It is always ‘it is everyone’s fault with you.’ ‘My father treated me like crap’. ‘Arthur stole my bride’. Always someone else’s fault. You are nothing but a spare, I was supposed to be King of England. Not you! But I swear to you now Your Majesty.” He made a mock bow “When I find your daughters I will take their eyes out then give them to my officers so they each take turns with them and your dearest wives, oh do I have plans for them.”

“Careful Artie, you are heading down a dark path. If you don’t turn back, you will never be able to go back to the light.”

“Good, because I want you and those whores, and our miserly father to see everything I am about to do. As for your ‘daughter’ Mary, I have great plans for her too once my son is born.”

Harry hung his head low. His brother was too far gone. “My brother is truly dead then.” He said then disappeared, returning to the realm of the dead.

 _Good riddance._ When Arthur’s forces arrived to Yavin IV; Anakin was nowhere to be seen. The Emperor had assured him that his apprentice and her parents would be distracted on the other side of Yavin, leaving more than enough time to take her.

He cleared his mind of any negative thoughts that could alert the two Jedi of his presence. He gave a signal to his corporal to enter the base. Taking out the rookies was easy, the more experiences officers proved a challenge however. One of them whom he had identified from his briefings with Thrawn as Doreah Tyrell-Sand, was of the latter.

“Samson alert the others!” She shouted, taking out her pistol and shooting one of his men. Arthur took out his sword and launched at her. “I do not want to fight you, but if you continue I will cut you down like I did the others.”

“Just try, _Your Highness_. I am stronger than any royal sell-out.” She said, taking out her whip, attempting to take his sword but Arthur was quicker.

“Ah yes, the Martell bastard. It is a shame that they didn’t teach girls in Dorne how to respect their betters.”

“And it is a shame they did teach that to women in England, otherwise, my mother-in-law would not have had to put up with a loser like you.” She returned. “You are not a Prince or even a King. What are you? A failure, just like your Welsh ancestors and just like most of them, you are going to end up killed, Your Highness.”

Arthur glared at her. She unleashed her whip again and this time took out his sword. “Ha, ha!”

Enough of this! He took out his pistol and fired at her. She evaded the first shots but didn’t the last two which hit her legs, making her fall on the floor and leaving her almost immobile.

“Kill me.” She said as Arthur approached. “And my friends will come for you and if they fail, you will have Vader on your tail and I promise you, mercy will be the last thing on his mind once he hears what you’ve done to her.”

“I am counting on it, but unfortunately for you, I won’t be killing you any time soon.” Arthur said kicking one of her legs. Doreah screamed. He smirked and leaned forward, and whispered in her ear. “I would rather leave that to the other Imperials because the Rebellion will fail, I promise you.” And then he left, heading right to Mary’s bedroom.

* * *

Mary didn’t want Anakin to go. _“Let me go with you.”_ She begged but he told her that it was beneath her to beg. Anakin wanted the old Mary back, the one who was defiant and was not afraid to speak her mind, but that Mary was not coming back -she told him. That Mary had been killed the moment Arthur made her look at herself and realize what she was.

 _“I love you Mary, don’t do this to yourself. I don’t care what the rest of the galaxy thinks of us, you shouldn’t either.”_ It was easy for Anakin to say that when he had been feared and respected as a Sith Lord, while she had been the object of ridicule after it was revealed she was the Eighth Sister, following the Emperor’s decree to terminate the Inquisitor program. _Not to mention that I am surrounded by enemies in every corner and my offspring hate me._

Jane Kyra did not say it but she did not have to. She could feel her emotions. Even now. She saw her mother as a pathetic creature, and Marion did not even try to hide it. The way she had lashed at her and Anakin was disgraceful. But maybe I deserve it. Her parents tried to make things better, but it wasn’t working.

Every day she felt she was losing her grip on reality. She dreamed of Henry VIII mocking her, calling her ‘bastard’ over and over again and her mother slapping her across the face as Mary begged her for her help. _“You are a disgrace”_ she would say, followed by her grandmother, Queen Isabella I of Castile, who appeared to tell Mary that out of all her descendants, she never expected her to survive. _“If only the worthiest of mine had survived and not you.”_

Today was no difference. Mary awoke from awful dreams. This time they were worse. It was from her previous life as Melusina, the river deity who had caused so much harm on the Plantagenets and the Tudors. She saw herself laughing as she took her mother’s babies and her first spouse.

 _No wonder Arthur hates me._ She touched her belly. This child was the only one keeping her sane. _What kind of mother will you have if I keep acting like this?_ She felt a kick from him. She and Anakin had discussed names for the baby. If it was a girl they’d name her Margaret after her late friend, Margaret Roper. If it was a boy, then he’d be named Ben. It wasn’t easy to convince Anakin of her choice of name; there was still a lot of bad blood between him and her father but he had agreed to in the end, so she took it as a sign that things would get better between them.

She looked at her choker in confusion. The light in the red jewel that belonged to her paternal grandparent shined brighter than it did. Anakin never liked Jon’s red witch, and preferred to see this as a necklace but Mary thought it looked better this way and her daughter-in-law had paid someone handsomely to fashion this silver choker with the jewel encrusted in the middle.

Her daughter-in-law … She wished that she became a grandmother before this war was over. It would be good to feel her grandchild in her arms and despite Anakin’s cold demeanor when Lya and Owen were around, he would love it as well. Lya and Owen had his full support. They always had -even when he said awful things about Owen’s _incompetence_ , there was always some nostalgia in his eyes when he saw them. _They remind them of us. What we would have been_.

As Mary was lost in her thoughts, she didn’t notice the light began to shine so bright that sparks flew from it, until she felt a sharp pain in her mid-section.

“Ah!” Mary got out of bed and leaned forward, gripping the handle of her chair next to it. _Why is happening to me?_

Afraid to look but steeling herself to confirm her worst fears, Mary reached underneath her nightgown and to her horror, found confirmation.

Mary looked at her bloody hand. No, no, she couldn’t be losing the baby. Her father’s voice came again, chastising her for turning to the dark side, for giving herself body and soul to two men who’d become tainted by it and then came the voice of Henry VIII asking what was wrong then laughing, berating her for being so weak.

 _‘I knew you couldn’t be my daughter.’ **Stop it!** _ Mary begged mentally. _**Please stop it!**_ She closed her eyes. Consumed by grief and desperation, she didn’t hear the door open and the heavy footsteps of her former lover. When she opened them, the voices were gone but in their place was someone she’d come to fear -and loathe- more than any other person in her life. And he grabbed her and pushed her on the bed and said “You won’t be losing anything but your sanity, my dear.” He told his men to carry her to his ship. Mary shouted at them. Raising her hand, two of them were thrown across the room while another one had his blaster rifle fly from his hands.

"You won’t be taking me!” She said, using the same technique her father did, waving her hand at him. It almost worked. Almost. Her concentration was cut short by Arthur who coldly laughed at her. “Sweet Mary, those tricks don’t work on me and they won’t work on him either. Now stop before I kill everyone on this base which will only infuriate the rebels more and blame our son for that. You don't want that now, do you?”  
  
“No.” She said, gritting her teeth, lowering her head. His officer moved against her again this time she offered no resistance.

“Good woman. You should be more like your mother, she always knew when to listen to men. But bastards never have a penchant for listening to their superiors, do they?”

“He will find me. And when he does, you won’t escape his justice.”

“Are you so sure of that? After he finds what I’ve done to you, he will no longer want you. Nobody will.”

Arthur looked down at her bloodied hands. “You won’t lose my child, unlike my father I will kill as many people as I can to protect what is mine and also because it feels good.” Then he whispered "Nothing will make me happier, than seeing your mother in my bed and you writhing on the floor in pain and my grandmother and mother, seeing their ancestress' face pressed under my boot." He took out a syringe and injected her on her neck, then it all went black.

* * *

Jabba’s giant antigravity Sail Barge glided slowly over the endless Dune Sea. Its sand-blasted iron hull creaked in the slight breeze, each puff of wind coughing into the two huge sails as if even nature suffered some terminal malaise wherever it came near Jabba. He was below decks, now, with most of his court, hiding the decay of his spirit from the cleansing sun.

Alongside the barge, two small skiffs floated in formation -one an escort craft, bearing six scruffy soldiers; the other a gun skiff, containing the prisoners: Han, Chewie, Luke. They were all in bonds, and surrounded by armed guards-Barada, two Wee-quays. And Lando Calrissian.

Barada was the no-nonsense sort, and not likely to let anything get out of hand. He carried a long-gun as if he wanted nothing more than to hear it speak.

The Weequays were an odd sort. They were brothers, leathery and bald save for a tribal topknot, braided and worn to the side. No one was certain whether Weeqyay was the name of their tribe, or their species; or whether all in their tribe were brothers, or all were named Weequays. It was known only that these two were called by his name, and that they treated all other creatures indifferently. With each other they were gentle, even tender; but like Barada, they seemed anxious for the prisoners to misbehave.

And Lando, of course, remained silent, ready -waiting for an opportunity. This reminded him of the lithium scam he’d run on Pesmenben IV- they’d salted the duens there with lithium carbonate, to con this Imperial governor into leasing the planet. Lando, posing as a nonunion mine guard, had made the governor lie face down in the bottom of the boat and throw his bribe overboard when the “union officials” raided them. They’d gotten away scot-free on that one; Lando expected this job would go much the same, except they might have to throw the guards overboard as well.

Han kept his ear turned, for his eyes were still useless. He spoke with reckless disregard, to put the guards at ease -to get them used to his talking and moving, so when the time came for him _really_ to move, they’d be a critical fraction behind his mark. And, of course -as always- he spoke just to hear himself speak.

“I think my sight is getting better.” He said, squinting over the sand. “Instead of a big dark blur, I see a big bright blur.”

“Believe me, you’re not missing anything.” Luke smiled. “We grew up here.” He added, more to himself than to the rest, including his sister who stood next to him.

Luke thought of his youth on Tatooine, living on his uncle’s farm, cruising in his souped-up landspeeder with his few friends -sons of other settlers, sitting their own lonely outsposts. Nothing to do here, really, for man or boy, but cruise the monotonous dunes and try to avoid the peevish Tusken Raiders who guard the sand as if it were gold-dust. Luke knew this place.  
He’d met Ben and Catherine, the hermit who’d lived in the wilderness since nobody knew when and his lover who had been their tutor. The man and woman who’d first shown Luke and Jane Kyra the way of the Jedi.

Luke thought of them now with great love, and great sorrow. They never got to have their happy ending. -And they never will- His thoughts then turned to his sister. The two had formed a Force bond. What she felt, he felt. Even when he and Carina had taken their relationship to the next level, his sister was always on his thoughts and he knew he was always on her. You can’t beat human nature. Or in this case Force nature. What they had done was not unheard of, but the Jedi had a reason for prohibiting these things. _“Attachment is forbidden. Love is forbidden. A Jedi must know love, or pain or desire.”_ Master Yoda had taught them. But Luke found that code impossible. He loved Carina but he also loved his sister. Carina was special because she did not see him as the son of the hero with no fear. She wasn’t afraid to say what was on her mind, even when she knew he wouldn’t agree with her. She didn’t share his love for the Jedi or the planned new democracy that him and his friends wanted to bring after the Empire fell. But she could in time.  
Jane Kyra was … Jane Kyra. While he was bored, she tried to make the most of their pitiful existence. She feigned sickness every time their aunt tried to get her to play with her dolls. Jane Kyra wanted to be like him, a future pilot but their aunt and uncle said that wasn’t appropriate for a girl. If he was more observant, he would have paid attention to his history lessons in class and put two and two together when his uncle talked about his mother and why he preferred to call Luke’s half-sibling by her first name. Unlike him, his uncle always felt more connected to his sister. Although his ghost claimed that he never knew his mother’s true identity, Luke suspected that deep down he did, and that was why he was so worried about his sister, because he feared that she would make the same reckless choices as his mother. _Or our father._ And in a way she did. Both of them did. Luke and Jane Kyra had been warned by Master Yoda not to give in to their fears, but give in they had and what they got was more than they bargained. And yet, despite this, they forgave Ben and Catherine and grew closer to them. And it was after Vader and the lady Mary’s revelations that the two finally saw what they had taken for granted.  
_Without Ben and Catherine we would have never met Han, Marion, Leia, and the rest_. -Even Owen -his mind reminded him. As much as it pained him to admit it, he had grown (somewhat) fond of the irritating former Imperial bastard.- And without Vader and the lady Mary, we would have never known the truth.

That is how life had been for Luke _. And it all started here on Tatooine_. _Without the madness being brought here, Jane and I would still be stuck here._ Like a recurring dream he knew this place; and he had sworn then that he would never return. He returned his glance to his sister _. She appreciates the lessons this place taught us. But whereas she wants to do something for this rock, I do not. This place is hell. It always has been._ He would honor their aunt and uncle’s memories in his own way, but he would never return to this place. It would be just another one of many places he’d been to. Nothing more.

“We grew up here.” He repeated softly.

“And now you are going to die here.” Solo replied, giving the two sun twins a smile. “Fitting.”

“I wasn’t planning on it.” Luke shook himself out of his reverie. He sighed. “He is not going to change his mind about us three, will he?”

“No.” Solo said, wishing that his death would be different. He didn’t mind dying. He lived for the moment but he wanted to spare Leia the pain of seeing him devoured by some sand freak. And then there was his aunts, his cousins, and even his old man. If what Luke and Jane Kyra said was true, he’d lose his mind once he knew what happened to his only son.

“If this is your big plan, so far I am not crazy about it.”

“Jabba’s palace was too well guarded.” Jane Kyra said. “We had to get you out of there. Just stay close to Chewie and Lando. Luke and I will take care of everything.”

“I can hardly wait.” Solo had a sinking feeling this grand escape depended on Luke and Jane Kyra’s thinking they were Jedi -a questionable premise at best, considering it was an extinct religious group that had used a Force he didn’t really believe in anyway. A fast ship and a good blaster were what Han believed in, and he wished he had them now.

**~o~**

Jabba sat in the main cabin of the Sail Barge, surrounded by his entire retinue. The party at the palace was simply continuing, in motion -the result being a slightly wobblier brand of carousing- more in the nature of a prelynching celebration. So blood lust and belligerence were testing new levels.

Threepio was way out of his depth. At the moment, he was being forced to translate an argument between Ephant Mon and Ree-Yees, concerning a point of quark warfare that was marginally beyond him. Ephant Mon, a bulky upright pachydermoid with an ugly, betusked snout, was taking (to Threepio’s way of thinking) an untenable position. However, on his shoulder sat Salacious Crumb, the insane little reptilian monkey who had the habit of repeating verbatim everything Ephant said, thereby effectively doubling the weight of Ephant’s argument.

Ephant concluded the oration with a typically bellicose avowal. “Woodie jawamba boog!”

To which Salacious nodded, then added, “Woodie jawamba boog!”

Threepio didn’t really want to translate this to Ree-Yees, the three-eyed goat-face who was already drunk as a spicer, but he did.

All three eyes dilated in fury. “Backawa! Backawa!” Without further preamble, he punched Ephant Mon in the snout, sending him flying into a school of Squid Heads.

C-Threpio felt this response needed no translation, and took the opportunity to slip to the rear -where he promptly bumped into a small droid serving drinks. The drinks spilled everywhere.

The stubby little droid let out a fluent series of irate beeps, toots, and whistles -recognizable to Threepio instantly. He looked down in utter relief.

“Artoo! What are you doing here?”

The little droid gave chirps and beeps which translated to “I am doing what was asked of me. What else would I be doing?”

“I can see that, but this place is dangerous. They are going to execute Master Luke and Mistress Jane Kyra, and if we are not careful, us, too!”

Artoo whistled -a bit nonchalantly, as far as Threepio was concerned. “I wish I had your confidence.” He replied glumly.

Jabba chuckled to see Ephant Mon go down -he loved a good beating. He especially loved to see strength crumble, to see the proud fall.

He tugged, with his swollen fingers, on the chain that parted in the middle, attached to Princess Leia and her best friend and half-sibling, Lady Marion’s necks. The more resistance he met with, the more he drooled -until he’d drawn the struggling, scantily-clad royals close to him once more.

“Don’t stray too far, my lovelies and you,” he turned to Marion, “do not attempt to trick me like your mother, girl. I know all about Margaery Tyrell.” He laughed. “It is a shame you are not her real daughter. I would have loved to be the first one to pluck your pretty petals and uproot your pride.”

 _Get in line_. Many people had wanted to hurt her. Some had succeeded when she was a child, until her mother taught her that it wasn’t words that hurt her, as much as their actions. And Marion could do so much with her calm demeanor which she learned from her mother.

This monster, this space slug, didn’t intimidate her. But her half-sister was another story. Leia couldn’t wait to snap the neck from this fiend. So did her, but she kept herself silent. In these sort of situations, it was better to play the pliant little maiden, and wait for the right time to strike.

 _"Patience"_ -Lady Olenna had told her- _"is everything_."

Leia opened her mouth then closed it. She could feel Marion’s anger, but also saw that her half-sister was calm. She squeezed her fists and like Marion, said nothing. Their other siblings were counting on them, so was Han. She couldn’t afford to give into her anger now _. I must be patient. His time will come_. This wouldn’t last.

**~o~**

The whole convoy stopped over a huge sand pit. The Sail Barge moved to one side of the giant depression, with the escort skiff. The prisoners’ skiff hovered directly over the pit, though, perhaps twenty feet in the air.

At the bottom of the deep cone of sand, a repulsive, mucus-lined, pink, membranous hole puckered, almost unmoving. The hole was eight feet in diameter, its perimeter clustered with three rows of inwardly-directed needle-sharp teeth. Sand stuck to the mucus that lined the sides of the opening, occasionally sliding into the black cavity at the center.

This was the mouth of the Sarlaac.

An iron plank was extended over the side of the prisoners’ skiff. Two guards untied Luke’s bonds and shoved him gruffly out unto the plank, straight above the orifice in the sand, now beginning to undulate in peristaltic movement and salivate with increased mucus secretion as it smelled the meat it was about to receive.

Jabba moved his party up to the observation deck.

Luke rubbed his wrists to restore circulation. His sister was behind him. Jabba’s guards were given a signal and they unlocked her cuffs as well. Looking back, his sister grinned at him then gave him a wink. It was the first time that Luke noticed a red glow to them. The two had been told all about Obi Wan’s ancestry. Perhaps it had to do with that. It couldn’t be Sith-related since -unlike him- his sister had been closer to the dark side because of Ben’s ancestry, and rejected it.  
“The dark is night and full of terrors” -Kinvara had told them. Darkness surrounded her sister, and so did him, but his darkness was different from hers. His darkness was mostly related to their father, and how close he had come to following his path. Jane Kyra’s darkness on the other hand was directly related to the red priests’ magic. It was her birthright. She had accepted it, but hadn’t let it control her.  
Her smile warmed his soul -for finally their plan would come into fruition and he would put an end to Jabba and his crime gang. He didn’t care what happened to this planet afterwards.

Jabba motioned Threepio to his side, then mumbled orders to the golden droid. Threepio stepped up to the comlink. Jabba raised his arm, and the whole motley array of intergalactic pirates fell silent. Threepio’s voice arose, amplified by the loudspeaker.

“His excellency hopes you will die honorably,” Threepio announced. This did not scan at all.

Someone had obviously mislaid the correct program. Nonetheless, _he_ was only a _droid_ , his functions well delineated. Translation only, no free will _please_. He shook his head and continued. “But should any of you wish to beg for mercy, Jabba will now listen to your pleas.”

Han stepped forward to give the bloated slime pot his last thoughts, in case all else failed. “You tell that slimy piece of worm-ridden filth son of a bitch that he will get no such pleasure from us.”

Chewie made a few growly noises of general agreement.

Luke was ready. “Jabba, this is your last chance,” he shouted. “Free us or die.” He shot a quick look to Lando, who moved unobtrusively toward the back of the skiff. This was it, Lando figured -they’d just toss the guards overboard and take off under everyone’s nose.  
Then he looked to his sister who mouthed a small ‘I got this’ and winked again.  
_Where would I be without you?_ Luke thought as he prepared for his big debut.

The monsters on the barge roared with laughter. Artoo, during this commotion, rolled silently up the ramp to the side of the upper deck.

Jabba raised his hand, and his minions were quiet. “I’m sure you’re right my young Jedi friend, but you and your sister witch will get a dose of reality pretty soon.” He smiled then turned his thumb down. “Put him in.”

The spectators cheered, as Luke was prodded to the edge of the plank by Weequay. Jane Kyra looked up at Artoo, standing alone by the rail, and flipped the little droid a jaunty salute then sent a mental image to Luke. At those prearranged signals, two flaps slid open in Artoo’s domed head, and two projectiles shot high into the air and curved in a gentle arc over the desert.

Luke jumped off the plank; another bloodthirsty cheer went up. In less than a second, though, Luke had spun around in freefall, and caught at the end of the plank with his fingertips. The thin metal bent wildly from his weight, paused near to snapping, then catapulted him up. In mid-air he did a complete flip and dropped down in the middle of the plank -the spot he’d just let, only now behind the confused guards. Some of them looked up and saw that Jane Kyra’s lightsaber was floating in mid-air. With Jedi speed, Luke ignited his sword and attacked the guard at the skiff-edge and those next to his sister, allowing her to release the telekinetic hold she had on her lightsaber. It fell on her hands. The two were now side by side, as their fathers had been before them, fighting as the Jedi Knights of old.  
Those who had lived long enough to see the Jedi in all their glory, back then being a Jedi meant something -as Jabba told them earlier- were awe-struck. It was like being transported to the past, and they didn’t snap out of their thoughts quick enough, to grab their blasters and shoot the two young Jedi.

These were not their original lightsabers. Luke and Jane Kyra had fashioned these themselves on Yavin, before their father’s arrival. It was made with the latter’s grandfather’s tools and crystals they had found on Dathomir. Luke wielded his as if it were fused to his hand; as if it were an extension of his own arm. This lightsaber, truly, was Luke’s. And Jane Kyra’s moved swifter with hers. It was the same size, yet it felt lighter and she herself felt lighter whenever she used it.

They cut through the onslaught like a light of dissolving shadows.

Lando grappled with the helmsman, trying to seize the controls of the skiff. The helmsman’s laser pistol fired, blasting the nearby panel; and the skiff lurched to the side, throwing another guard into the pit, knocking everyone else into a pile on the deck. Luke picked himself up and ran toward the helmsman, lightsaber raised. The creature retreated at the overpowering sight, stumbled and he, too, went over the edge, into the maw.

The bewildered guard landed in the soft, sandy slope of the pit and began an inexorable slide down toward the toothy, viscous opening. He clawed desperately at the sand, screaming. Suddenly a muscled tentacle oozed out of the Sarlacc’s mouth, slithered up the caked sand, coiled tightly around the helmsman’s ankle, and pulled him into the hole with a grotesque slurp.

All this happened in a matter of seconds. When he saw what was happening, Jabba exploded in rage, and yelled furious commands at those around him. In a moment, there was general uproar, with creatures running through every door. It was during this directionless confusion that Leia acted, and Marion followed. She jumped onto Jabba’s throne, grabbed the chain which enslaved her and her sister, and wrapped it around his bulbous throat. Then she dove off the other side of the support, pulling the chain violently in her grasp. Marion jumped as well landing in front of Jabba whereas her sister remained behind the creature, pulling and pulling until all that could be heard from the disgusting fat space slug was gurgles.

“I told you, you probably did not hear me or you did but you thought it best to ignore me. My face will be the last thing you see before you die.” Marion said then recited what her mother, great-grandmother and grandmother said. “My mother was a skilled actress, she told me when the boys mocked me for being an orphan not to let their words hurt me, but instead of going with the old ‘sticks and stones hurt me, words do not’ she whispered in my ear, wait until they have turned their backs and then strike. Strike with your smile, strike with your wits and make sure they know their foolishness in going against you. My grandmother for her part just said, make sure they see your face and they see you smiling while my great-grandmother told me to be patient. So I have been patient with you, _Your Highness_ , and now my patience has been rewarded with your painful death.”

With strength beyond her own strength, Leia pulled more and blood could be seen dripping from his neck where metal got loose and got nailed into his flesh. Jabba tried to break free, he bucked with his huge torso, nearly reaching Marion but the more he tried to move and cause harm to Marion, the harder Leia pulled. Each scream was like a sweet melody of encouragement. She envied her sister. She wanted to be in front of this monster, to see his face writhing in pain.  
Everything she had suffered, the pain, the humiliation, she was taking it out on this thing. Hell hath no fury like a woman who has been degraded and had her planet blown up in front of her. Oh, the other Imperials paid for that, but there were so many that hadn’t and since Jabba was the closest thing she had to unleash her anger (and he had degraded her as well), this felt fitting.

With a last gasping effort, Jabba tensed every muscle and lurched forward. His reptilian eyes began to bulge from their sockets as the chain tightened; his oily tongue flopped from his mouth. His thick tail twitched in spasms of effort, until he finally lay still -deadweight.

Marion sighed. It is over. Leia let out a breath of relief. All that was left for them to do was set themselves free of these chains around their necks.

**~o~**

** **

Outside the battle still raged. Boba Fett ignited his rocket pack, leaped into the air, and with a single effort flew down from the barge to the skiff just as Luke and Jane Kyra finished freeing Han and Chewie from their bonds. Boba aimed his laser gun at Luke, but before he could fire, Jane Kyra spun around, sweeping his lightsaber in an arc that sliced the bounty hunter’s gun in half.

 

 

A series of blasts suddenly erupted from the large cannon on the upper deck of the barge, hitting the skiff broadside, and rocking it forty degrees askew. The next ones were aimed as Jane Kyra, realizing that his sister was the one who reacted first but unlike her brother, she evaded each one. As one of these shots caught Lando by surprise who jumped to avoid it, it made him get closer to the edge and as he lost his balance, he flew backwards from the deck. At the last moment however, he grabbed a broken strut and dangled desperately above the Sarlacc. This development was definitely not in his game plan, and he vowed to himself never again to get involved in a con that he didn’t run from start to finish.

  
The skiff took another direct hit from the barge’s deck gun, throwing Chewie and Han against the barge’s deck gun, throwing Chewie and Han against the rail. Wounded, the Wookie howled in pain. Luke looked over at his hairy friend; whereupon Boba Fett, taking advantage of that moment of distraction, fired a cable from out of his armored sleeve.  
The cable wrapped itself several times around Luke, pinning his arms to his sides, his sword arm now free only from the wrist down. He bent his wrist, so the lightsaber pointed straight up and then spun toward Boba along the cable. In a moment, the lightsaber touched the end of the wire lasso, cutting through it instantly. Luke shrugged the cable away, just as another blast hit the skiff, knocking Boba unconscious to the deck. Jane Kyra waved her hand making him conscious again then blinked, sending him flying into the Sarlacc’s pit.

Luke and Jane Kyra were shaken by the explosion, but unhurt and still concentrated on their fight.

Lando hit the sandy slope, shouted for help, and tried to scramble out. The loose sand only tumbled him deeper toward the gaping hole. Lando closed his eyes and tried to think of all the ways he might give the Sarlacc a thousand years of indigestion. He bet himself three or two he could outlast anybody else in the creature’s stomach. Maybe if the talked that last guard out of his uniform …

“Don’t move!” Luke screamed, but his attention was immediately diverted by the incoming second skiff, full of guards firing their weapons. He nodded to Jane Kyra. “Showtime.” She said and the two took out every soldier that came their way, by jumping and landing perfectly on that ship.

Back in the other boat, Chewie tried to untangle himself from the wreckage, as Han struggled blindly to his feet. Chewie barked at him, trying to direct him toward a spear lying loose on the deck.

Lando screamed, starting to slide closer to the glistening jaws. He was a gambling man, but he wouldn’t have taken long odds on his chances of escape right now.

“Don’t move, Lando!” Han called out. _If my old man can see me now. He’d probably tell aunt Jane and aunt Jane tell me to stay out of trouble._ No time to think of that now. He’d deal with them when they got home. _If we do get back_.  
“I’m coming!” He told his former buddy, then asked Chewie: “Where is it, Chewie?”  
He swung his hands frantically over the deck as Chewie growled directions, guiding Solo’s movements. At last, Han locked onto the spear. Chewie barked at Han. “Which way?” Shouted Han. Chewie barked again.  
The blinded space pirate was lowered by his Wookie friend, grabbed the spear and told Lando to grab it. Neither of them noticed one of the Sarlacc’s tentacles moving closer to Lando.

**~o~**

Meanwhile, on the observation deck, Leia and Marion had been intermittently struggling to break the chains which bound them to the dead gangster, and hiding behind his massive carcass whenever some guard ran by.

“It is Valyrian steel. Mother used to say nothing could break it unless you used dragon fire.” Marion commented, accidentally scratching her neck as she tried again.

“Damn it.” Leia hissed. “We don’t need dragon fire when we have Artoo.” She pointed to the loyal astromech droid who at last came to their rescue, after having first lost his bearings and rolled down the wrong plank.

He zipped up to Leia first, extending a cutting appendage from the side of his casing, and sliced through her bonds then moved to Marion. “Impressive.” The last Tyrell said. “You are one hell of a dragon, Artoo.”

If Artoo could blush, he would have. He gave an exciting whistle. Marion’s mother, Margaery Tyrell had told Bail Organa it would be a good idea to install “dragon lasers” on him. It was a new technology that select droids had, that could cut through (almost every metal) including Valyrian steel.

They raced for the door. On the way, they passed Threepio, lying on the floor, screaming as a giant tuberous hulk named Hermi Odle sat on him. Salacious Crumb, the reptilian monkey-monster, crouched by Threepio’s head, picking out the golden droid’s right eye.

“No! No! Not my eyes!” Threepio screamed.

Artoo sent a bolt of charge into Hermi Odle’s backside, sending him wailing through a window. A similar flash blasted Salacious to the ceiling, from which he didn’t come down. Threepio quickly rose, his eye dangling from a sheaf of wires; then he and Artoo hurriedly followed Leia out of the back door.

**~o~**

The deck gun blasted the tilting skiff one more, shaking out virtually everything that remained inside except Chewbacca. Desperately holding on with his injured arm, he was stretching over the rail, grasping the ankle of the dangling Solo, who was, in turn, sightlessly reaching down for the terrified Calrissian. Lando had managed to stop his slippage by lying very still. Now, every time he reached for Solo’s spear, the loose sand slid him a fraction closer to the hungry hole. In one of these instances, they heard the thing howl. Its howls were louder than before and Lando briefly turned and saw one of its tentacles moving closer to him. He screamed as it grabbed him and tried to pull him down.

A company of guards suddenly rushed up the steps from the lower decks, firing. One of the blasts shot Luke’s lightsaber from his hand. He ran down the deck, but was quickly surrounded. Two of the soldiers manned the deck gun again. Luke looked at his hand; the mechanism was exposed -the complex steel-and-circuit construction that replaced his real hand, which Vader had cut off in their last encounter.

Jane Kyra, after finishing off most of the guards by deflecting their bolts which landed on them, was on his side and looked at his hand. She touched it gently and asked him if he felt any great pain. He shook his head, feeling thankful that she had finished them off, and that his hand still worked.

“Pull!” Han yelled at his Wookie friend as Lando grabbed ahold of the spear.

“I’m caught!” Screamed Calrissian. He did not need to tell Han by what. He asked Chewie to give him a blaster in his other free hand.

“I thought you were blind!” Lando said, fearing that his poor eyesight would hit him instead of the creature’s tentacles.

“I can see enough.” Han said and pointed the gun at him.

“Woah! Woah! It’s too close, move your hand up. That’s far enough.” Lando said. Han fired the shot. Not once but twice to make sure and at Chewie and Lando’s insistence, he threw the blaster and moved his hand closer to the spear. Chewie let out a powerful roar and pulled them up.

Lando sighed, feeling great relief and thankful to whatever powerful force was out there, that he was alive. And not only that! That his friends were alive as well.

**~o~**

The explosions rocked the great barge. In that moment, Luke and Jane Kyra swung to the barge. The explosion had distracted some of the remaining guards, allowing them to throw them off and finish them off easily. Leia and Marion, along with Threepio and Artoo, who raced to the top got hold of the two deck guns. They were thankful to see Luke and Jane Kyra.

“Point it down!” Luke yelled at them, pointing to the forgotten first skiff where he and Jane Kyra had been held prisoners.

The two half-sisters tilted the first and second deck gun respectively into that floating vehicle, blowing it up effectively. Then Luke signaled to active that automatic fire and point it down to this barge. They nodded.

Artoo understood what this meant and beeped wildly to Threepio.

“I can’t, Artoo!” Threepio cried. “It’s too far to jump … Ahhh!” Threepio was silenced by one push of Artoo who then jumped, tumbling head over wheels towards the sand.

Luke and Jane Kyra meantime, gathered Leia and Marion respectively in their left arms; with their right ones gabbing ahold of ropes from the half blown-down mast. The four of them swung on the ropes, all the way down to the second hovering escort skiff where Chewie, Han, and Lando were.

The skiff stopped just above R2-D2 and C-3PO. Thanks to their tracking devices and Luke and Jane Kyra being able to sense them, they located them and activated a large electromagnet from its compartment in the boat’s helm. With a loud clang, the two droids shot out of the sand and locked to the magnet’s plate.

In a few minutes, they were all in the skiff together, more or less in one piece; and for the first time, they looked at one another and realized they were all in the skiff together. There was a great, long moment of hugging, laughing, crying, and beeping. Marion slapped her sister’s back. So unlike her, given that Marion had been raised as a lady. An assertive one at that. But a lady nonetheless. But she couldn’t help herself. Despite telling herself that she and Leia would take care of that space monster, she never thought that she would see her twin and her half-brother again. Her mother would’ve said it was nothing short of a miracle. _But I am not my mother_. And yet, it had been her knowledge, Margaery Tyrell’s lessons, that saved her. She moved to Luke whom she gave a great hug. Luke was happy to see her too. The two had not been as close as he was to his other two sisters, but he had seen her in action for the first time, and for the first time, he realized that she was every bit of a warrior as his twin and half-sister. He moved to Leia. He was quick with her. He knew that Leia’s thoughts were on the scoundrel more than him and on cue, the minute he let her go and kissed her cheek, she moved past him and twined her arms around Han’s neck, kissing him squarely on the mouth.

The great Sail Barge settled slowly in a chain of explosions and violent fires, and -as the little skiff flew quietly off across the desert- and disappeared finally in a brilliant conflagration that was only partially diminished by the scorching afternoon light of Tatooine’s twin suns.


	37. The Darkness is my ally

_“See me, hear me_  
_you should fear me because_  
_I am seriously disturbed …”_  
**_~So Long by Everlast_ **

The sandstorm obscured everything -sight, breath, thought, motion. The roar of it alone was disorienting, sounding like it came from everywhere at once, as if the universe were composed of noise, and this was its chaotic center.

The heroes walked step by step through the murky gale, holding on to one another so as not to get lost. Artoo was first, following the signal of the homing device which sang to him in a language not garbled by the wind. Threepio came next, then the royal ladies, Princess Leia and Marion Tyrell, the sun Twins,  and finally Lando and Han, supporting the hobbling Wookie.

Artoo beeped loudly, and they all looked up: vague, dark shapes could be seen through the typhoon.

“I don’t know,” shouted Han. “All I can see is a lot of blowing sand.”

“That’s all any of us can see,” Leia shouted back.

“Then I guess I’m getting better.”

For a few steps, the dark shapes grew darker; and then out of the darkness, the Millenium Falcon appeared, flanked by Luke and Jane Kyra’s X-Wing and a two-seater Y-Wing. As soon as the group huddled under the blunk of the Falcon, the wind died down to something more describable as a severe weather condition. Threepio hit a switch, and the gangplank lowered with a hum.  
Han turned to the Skywalkers. “I’ve got to hand it to you two, you were pretty good out there.”

Luke shrugged it off. “I had a lot of help.” He said gesturing to his sister who blushed at his kind smile. Both of them started toward their X-Wings.

Han stopped them, calling out to them. They turned. His manner became quieter, even serious. “Thanks for coming after me, guys.”

Luke felt embarrassed for some reason. He didn’t know how to respond to anything but a wisecrack from the old pirate. “Think nothing of it,” he said then his sister added, something more heartfelt. “We always come back for a friend and you are our friend Han, even if you think we are crazy.”

Han chuckled. “Kid, I am glad to find that Jedi hocus-pocus nonsense hasn’t taken your sense of humor. Hey,” he turned serious again and placed a hand on her shoulder. “If you ever need someone to talk to … I am here.”

“Thanks Han but I am fine. Luke and I are fine.”

“I know but just in case.” Han said then added: “You are not the only one with a bastard father.”

Jane Kyra felt very emotive. The topic of her father was still a hard one. On the outside, she seemed calmed, almost nonchalant, like she had made peace with the fact that her parents were two of the dastardliest beings in the galaxy, and had even appealed to her fraternal twin, begging her to forgive them. But inside, she felt lost. How can you make peace when your whole life had been a lie? If it were not for her ghostly uncle’s visits, she would have become the dark side’s puppet as Luke had done -for a time.  
It felt good knowing that there was someone she could actually talk to.

“Thanks Han, it means a lot.” She said, truly meaning it.

“Just remember. We are not them. Don’t let your family take that craziness out of you. It is what makes you special.”

She smiled a small smile then hugged him. “Welcome back.” She said.

“Good to be back kiddo.” Han said. The two parted with each other then turned their backs, heading to their respective ships.

* * *

Mary screamed as she felt the pains of labor. _No, it is too soon!_ She howled louder as she felt another contraction. This is the end. She could feel it.

 _I can’t let my baby die_. Mustering what little strength she had left, she pushed and finally her baby was born.

His cries brought a smile to her face. "Ben." She said weakly to the med-droid. The jewel in her neck had not stopped glowing. Arthur, as a way of mocking her, told the droids not to take it off.  _"It will be a reminder of her status."_ When she felt like giving up, it took away her doubts, replacing them with memories of her and Anakin. 

"Name him Ben ..." She repeated, trailing off when the droid brought her baby to her so she could see him. When Owen was born, she thought he was the most beautiful baby she saw. She had barely seen her twin daughters. Her memories of them were too painful, and none of them wanted anything to do with her. But Owen was a different story. He had been hers. She had breastfed him and watched him take his first steps. He was completely devoted to her.  
This baby did not have his father or his brother's blond hair. His hair was red like his mother and his namesake while his eyes were a beautiful sky blue like her mother's. 

"Ben ..." She said one last time then closed her eyes, letting sleep take her.

* * *

 _No._ Obi Wan brought a hand to his chest. He felt a pain greater than ever before. All eyes were on him; Catherine was by his side at once. “What is going on? Obi Wan, talk to me.”

“Mary.” Was all he said and Anakin rushed to the docking bay at once.

“Anakin, wait, we do not know if the place will be filled with Imperials.”

Anakin didn’t listen to his former master. There was only one person he cared about that was on that base, and her life was in danger. Shaking his head and ignoring the pain he still felt in his chest, Obi Wan and Catherine rushed to another transporter which was operated by a protocol droid.

When they arrived to the base, Mary was nowhere to be found. There was a trail of blood coming out of her bedroom. Anakin knelt down, dipping his fingers in it. He got Force visions, seeing what had transpired, then hung his head low. Obi Wan placed a hand on his shoulder which he shook off. He had no wish to hear comforting words or another sermon from his master.

Obi Wan sighed. If only you knew how much this hurts me as well. The pain in his chest had gotten worse. Through the Force he could feel her pain from millions of light-years away. Mary was giving birth -far from her family and the man she loved.

Anakin found a lonely figure in the hallway with a comlink. Doreah Sand. She had been the one who called for reinforcements. “Thank the gods you are here.” She managed to say. “I tried to stop him but there were too many and the royal cunt is good with the sword.” She groaned as she tried to sit up. Her legs hurt too much. _So much for endurance._

Anakin carried her to the med bay -which was thankfully still operating. The med droid examined her and gave her a few injections. He told them she would recover in a few days.

“You must be very disappointed in us. I know I am. These rookies were so bad.” She said, laughing coldly as the droid placed injected her with stronger medication. “Damn it. I swear if you stick another needle in my arm, I am going to tear you apart or pull whatever cord it is that makes you work.”

Anakin waved the droid away. “I am sorry you had to fight him.”

Doreah blinked. Was she hearing right? The great Darth Vader offering his condolences.  She laughed harder. “The galaxy has turned upside down. Ow, this damn pain. I prefer the time when there was such a thing as fighting with honor.”

“Did you get to see anything that could tell me where he took her?”

She shook her head but offered her suspicions. “He said something like I will make you lose your sanity, our son will not die … then I saw him and three of his soldiers coming out your room with her in his arms. She was bleeding a lot. A med droid was outside his ship. He must have known something was wrong with her pregnancy.”

“You knew as well?”

She shook her head. “No, but I could sense it. I know it sounds weird coming from me. I am not a strong Force-sensitive. But when I was born, the Jedi came to my father and told him they could train me. He told them in not so nice words to shove their power swords up their asses.”

Anakin smirked at that. He heard plenty of her father. The legendary red viper, Oberyn Martell. “Your father was a great warrior.”

“Aye, he was. He taught me everything I knew yet my mother-in-law’s former lover cut me down so easily.”

“He didn’t fight so honorably, it is to be expected of someone of his line.” Anakin said, thankful he was not discussing these things with a self-righteous rebel like his former master, Catherine or his offspring.

“Right again there pops.” She said earning a glare from Anakin. “I don’t care what my wife’s opinion is of you, you are her father -whether she likes it or not and therefore my father-in-law. I hardly knew my dad. He was consumed by vengeance and after he died, my mother was consumed by vengeance as well, and so were my half-siblings and most of my sisters. So I know what it is, to be a prisoner of your own mind, unsure whether to give in to your darkest desires or act the good servant of the light.”

“Marion is truly lucky to have you.” Anakin said, giving her a small smile. “You fought bravely today. After your wounds are healed, I will tell the elders of your bravery.”

“They won’t listen to a former dark lord of the Sith, and most of them don’t like me after I’ve told them a few truths.”

“Such as?” Anakin asked, intrigued. The only other person he’d met brave enough to tell harsh truths to people’s faces was his former apprentice Ahsoka. The young Togruta was not afraid to speak her mind. She was a true warrior. And you killed her. He remembered how she had not begged for mercy, or said anything else besides she was sorry to leave him, before he and Mary murdered her.  
She will not face the same fate as her. Although he had lost Mary, he was going to get her back and protect his daughter-in-law because while Marion hated her, Doreah did not and through her, he and Mary could get closer to her.

“I told Sir Thomas Seymour that he was a man-whore different than the people he slams for their amoral behavior, including you and his son. Not that I mind that kind of behavior. My father slept with whoever he wanted, when he wanted and so did my mother. But they were always honest about it, they never pretended to be anything they were not.”

“That is very bold of you. But true. Sir Thomas needed to hear it sooner or later.”

“It is a shame that it didn’t cause a major impact on him.” She said then added: “I meant to talk to you and the lady Mary before this but it never seemed the right time and … Marion … Marion doesn’t like to be near you. The two of us have talked of having children. She wants to adopt while I prefer one of us to do it the traditional way.”

“Why don’t you do it then?”

Doreah shrugged. “Marion pours herself into the rebellion. She says she wants to run as the first senator after this is over, so there won’t be enough time to raise a child and I want to be involved in the new government as well, but I also want to raise a family. I don’t want to fight all my life, that is what my parents did and it cost them dearly. I wouldn’t want to bring a child into this life knowing they’d face the same childhood I did.”

“Politics will be part of their life even if your wife’s dreams of a new republic comes true. It comes with the territory. People like us are never free of it.” Anakin said. It was not a nice thing to say. But he had to say it. People like them couldn’t expect normalcy -or a luxury such as freedom.

“That is true but I can hope.” She said then with a sigh she added, leaning her head back against the soft pillow on the med bed. “You should tell Marion she should adopt. Hearing your approval will make her think is a bad idea and she will agree with mine.”

“I gather she will.” Anakin said, knowing his daughter was as proud and stubborn as his other daughter, Princess Leia. He pulled a chair and sat next to her. “If you do agree on having a child, name her Shmni.”

“That’s your mother’s name.” Anakin nodded.  After a long pause, she asked if he had any more requests. He shook his head. She agreed to his request. “I will name her Shmni, but it could be a boy.”

“In that case, name him as your father.” Anakin proposed knowing that as headstrong as Marion was, she would not deny her wife when it came to naming their son after the man whose legacy Doreah had worked so hard to preserve.

As another long pause ensued, Anakin thought of something and broke it, asking Doreah the following: “What ship did they board?”

“I am not sure. I do not know of these things as well as the others.”

“Just think hard. What did it look like? Its class.” Anakin pressed.

“Grey. Metallic grey, but it had an insignia on it. A rose and the Imperial fleet sigil next to it and …” Doreah gasped.

“What?”

Doreah looked at him in the eye. “Alpha Prime Wolf.”

Anakin kept his composure but inside he was seething. He thanked Doreah, and promised he’d visit her after she felt better then left to tell Obi Wan and Catherine.

* * *

“What is Alpha Prime Wolf? A space station?” Catherine asked after dropping her comlink, having informed most of the Rebellion of the latest happenings.

Anakin shook his head and showed her an image of one of his recordings from his holo-pad. “Jon Targaryen’s Prime Star Destroyer. It has the Tudor rose because the Emperor decided to join their base of operations into one after Mary and I defected. He is keeping her there.”

“How can you be so sure? You haven’t been privy to their secrets in years.” Catherine pointed out.

“She is there, my lady, I am sure of it.”

“Can you feel her?” Catherine asked, her voice rang with skepticism and mockery. “Or him? Has the Emperor blocked her presence from you or is there something else we should know?”

“I assure you, my lady there is nothing else but I do feel her and to answer your penultimate question, the Emperor’s power is not that strong.”

Catherine snorted. “Funny, decades ago you claimed it was. He ensnared you with promises of raising your beloved from the dead -a fate you caused when you choke her, nearly killing Luke and Leia in the process as well.”

“Is there something else you want to say to me, my lady because I would advice you not to. Your daughter might have earned your respect and put up with you half her life but I won’t. I loved Padme and I love your daughter and I will get her back, and when I do, I will do everything in my power to keep you and Obi Wan away from us and our child.”

“You intend to keep my own child from me?”

“Anakin, think this through.” Obi Wan said, ignoring the pain that hit him once again as he felt his daughter’s sadness. Anakin felt it too -he knew- but he had grown better at hiding his emotions since he became Lord Vader.

“She stopped being your child the minute you took her offspring from her.”

“And what did you want us to do? Leave them with her so you could take them and give to the Emperor in exchange for more power?”

“They were my children. I am their father. I didn’t get to hear their first words, see their first steps. You and Obi Wan had no right to keep them from me.”

“And you had no right being their father. I can only tremble knowing what fate awaits that child, if you get my daughter back. Raised by a criminal, a thug-“

“Better than being raised by a royal whore and a man who slept with all the pretty faces he could get his hands on.” Anakin cut her off, silencing her at once.

Catherine wasn’t the only one who glared now, Obi Wan glared as well.

“Did I go too far?” He turned to Obi Wan. “How many times did you … in her first husband’s words … plow her?”

Catherine gasped. The gall of this man!

“Four, five, fifty?” He went on. “I bet you enjoyed it. Having a princess under your bed, no, a queen moaning, screaming your name and then there was the Duchess, and Siri. All of them fierce, all of them with a drop of royal blood because you, the great Obi Wan Kenobi, the great negotiator, couldn’t bear the strictness of the Jedi Code so instead of defying the council openly you went behind their backs.”

“That is enough Anakin.” Obi Wan said harshly, throwing daggers from his eyes.

“I only bedded two women in my life so in a way I have been more faithful than either of you and last time I checked, Mary only bedded two men, so she is a better person than you as well.” He said then added, hitting them where it hurt the most. “If you cared for your daughter as much as you preach, you would have come clean and told everyone she was Obi Wan’s daughter and spare her the humiliation during Anne’s reign. Face it, Your Majesty, you did not care one bit for her. You wanted to keep your crown because your mother filled your head with lies that it was your destiny to be queen just as you,” he turned to Obi Wan, “filled your head with lies that it was your duty to serve the Jedi and mine to be their precious chosen one. If we are fucked up, it is because of you two.”

Catherine took a step forward. Obi Wan didn’t stop her. He was seething with rage. “Get out.” She hissed.

Anakin gave a mock nod of respect then left.

* * *

 

When the news reached the rest of the rebellion, Owen exploded in a rage. His friends, including his half sister, Jane Kyra and her brother, Luke, tried to calm him down.

“Where could they have taken her?” Anne asked Catherine. The latter had told her what Anakin had said to her and Obi Wan, and naturally, the former Queen did not want to see him.

“Doreah says that she caught the Imperial symbol next to the Targaryen-Stark one and his own. So she is in their star destroyer.” Marion said. “It will be nearly impossible to break in.”

“Didn’t we break in from one of the most secure fortresses from the most powerful gang lord in the galaxy?” Han inquired. “There isn’t anything we cannot do.” He added, flashing his usual grin.

Everyone rolled their eyes at Han. Thomas Seymour chuckled. It was such a rarity to see that in him. For a minute it looked as if he was back to his old self -the man they loved and hated from Tudor times. But it faded as soon as Anakin Skywalker walked into the room, ignoring Catherine and Anne’s protests.

“Arthur and Jon’s star destroyer has a weakness. It is manned by new recruits with the best scores in the Imperial Academy and are ready to die for the Empire.”

“This weakness …” Han started. Anakin looked pointedly at him then resumed.

“They were not trained by Brendol Hux which is to our advantage.” Anakin then added: “The corporal is Andro Bak.”

“And he is important because-“ Han went on.

Anakin glared at him. Of all the men of the galaxy, he found it incredible that his daughter had set her eyes on this insolent pirate.

“He comes from Lothal.” Ned said, beating Vader to it. “We were in the same group during our trials.”

“Woah, woah, you said he wasn’t trained by Hux.”

“He wasn’t.” Ned told the reckless space pirate. “During our trials our platoons face against the best from a neighboring academy. Mine and my sister’s were chosen to face his. Naturally, we won.”

“Good, so he isn’t that good.” Han said.

“Which begs the question as to why the Empire would put someone who couldn’t defeat two scaly wolves in simple training.” Marion said.

“That is a good question and the answer is very simple. His loss was owed thanks to the incompetence of his team members. He took full responsibility for that which impressed Brendol Hux and my father, and also Lord V-“ He cleared his throat and quickly rephrased, “Anakin Skywalker here. He is one of the finest men to be found in the galaxy, and he will let us in.”

“Just because he owes his position to your father and Lord Vader’s mercy, doesn’t guarantee that he will let us in.” Princess Leia pointed out.

“You are right, Your Highness, it does not but we lose nothing asking.” Ned said, locking his hands behind him, squeezing them tightly. Bess was there next to him, he turned to her. She gave him a small smile. It offered some comfort. Not as much as he would have liked. _Clearly, my sister and I will never be welcome here and neither will Owen._ Lya and Owen were fooling themselves thinking they’d ever be accepted by this disorderly bunch. _But the die has been cast and there is no turning back._

“And if we take that risk, we can find more about the state of the Empire.” Anakin said, leaving out more details about the people that were assigned to that star destroyer. He looked to Ned who nodded then turned his attention back to the two royal women who -besides the elders and Mon Monthma- had become the de factor leaders of the rebellion.

“We have to think this through first. We will talk with Mon Mothma and see if we can mount a sneak attack. Lt. Targaryen you will make contact with the Corporal when we tell you to. Lord Vader, you will give us whatever information you can give us about this star destroyer. We will find the names of the people assigned to their star destroyer. If you know anyone, you can contact them and tell them to give us security clearance.” Princess Leia said, shifting her view from Ned to Lord Vader (whom she looked directly at). “Is that understood?”

“Yes.” Anakin said, refraining himself from saying something else to the Princess and the lady Marion.

When he went to his chambers. The room had been cleaned. There was no trace of blood on the floor. He sighed then grinned. The Senator and Prince, as well as the Queen, had raised his daughter by Padme well. So had the Queen Dowagers and Lady Olenna, his eldest daughter by Mary.

If they weren’t so proud, they’d realize that the two took more after him than their adoptive parents. Princess Leia was so sure that she was on the right side that she was willing to risk everything for her loved ones, but she was also pragmatic and cold when she needed to be. The lady Marion supported her, as her sister and best friend, and she was willing to sacrifice as many pawns to ensure victory. When they returned from their mission -with Solo, he had recognized the different auras that emanated from each. Both had used the dark side to free themselves of Jabba. While they did not say much, Anakin recognized that look in their eyes. It was the same look he had sported when he killed the Tusken raiders who had kidnapped his mother, followed by all the women and children in the village. He had felt unrepentant -to this day, he felt no remorse.  
_“I slaughtered them like animals! I hate them.”_ He had confessed to Padme. He had been reckless in doing that. A man hungry for justice would not have done so. A man would have kept his silence knowing what the self-righteous would think.

**Anakin!**

He was up at once. **Mary?**

**Anakin, please help me!**

**Mary!** He shouted mentally. Mary was alone with no one but that royal creep. Mary, talk to me! But he heard nothing more. Whether it was the Emperor or the pains of childbirth, he could not reach her.

He had tried to see into her thoughts. Thanks to their link, he could always feel her. But when he had left, it was as if something had blocked her from him. He knew for a fact it was not Arthur. As much as that man prided himself in being the best of the best, he was not Force-sensitive and despite what he had learned about the Force, he could not use it. It had to be something else. Then it clicked. The red jewel. It had been responsible for causing those labor pains, for blocking their connection.

But why? Why would her ancestors' magic be against him? He tried again -and again he came with nothing.

In that instant, he was hit by images. Not of the present but of the future.

 _Mary was pushed to the ground. She was completely naked, her feet bleeding. She looked to him in the crowd but he was nowhere to be found. Then she reached some steps and she finally found him. He shouted her name, screamed at her tormentors to let her go, but there was no mercy for her. "For her sins." Someone started "She shall finish her atonement by lying face down and asking for forgiveness." Anakin tried to get to her but he was blocked by palace guards_.

"Mary!" He shouted, returning to the present.

His younger self would not have hesitated to take one of the rebel ships to rescue Mary. The present Anakin did. Given his experience, he knew how well manned that Imperial vessel would be. Not to mention that he could not completely rely on his and Ned Targaryen-Stark's connection. Admiral Piett would be there, and the man had been as loyal as they came. But would he remember Vader as the man who had been responsible for his promotion, or as the traitor?

It was a military operation. Anything could go wrong. He took out his red lightsaber and ignited it. It was the symbol of his former life as dark lord of the sith. He refused to give it up. Darkness was his ally. It had helped him defeat his enemies and it would help him get Mary back.

* * *

 

Obi Wan closed his eyes again. "I must go."

"My love you cannot. Arthur will kill you." Catherine said. They were in their bedroom. Mary's kidnapping had made him look older. For the first time since Luke and Jane Kyra joined the rebellion, he felt his age.

"Mary is in this situation because of me."

"Do not tell me you agree with him. Anakin drove our daughter to this abyss. Not you. Not me and not even Anne."

"Catherine, you know it is not true." Obi Wan said looking seriously at his lover. "I wished I would have left the Jedi Order when you asked me to but I wasn't sure that I could be a father. When you told me about Mary's parentage, part of me wished that you were wrong and that she was Henry's daughter."

"You had a duty to the Jedi Order. Your place was with them as mine was next to my husband."

"It doesn't make it any better, Catherine." Obi Wan said. "I must go." After a pregnant pause, he added. "I have always loved you, if I fall ... I will still be with you. I will always be with you." He kissed her.

A Jedi was not supposed to know love, but he had (many times). Yet, among all the women who had come and gone, none of them compared to Catherine. He had seen his death and he had made peace with it. But if he was going to die by Arthur's hand, he would do so while rescuing his daughter.


	38. Visions of Lost Hope

_"Will you still love me_  
_when I am no longer young and beautiful?_  
_Will you still love me when I_  
_got nothing but my aching soul?"_  
**~Young and Beautiful by Lana del Rey**

 _“This has been a dream of mine for years. I searched for officers who would understand what I proposed, and who could help create these champions of our empire. When I didn’t find those officers, I decided to follow my own advice. I would create them.”_  
**_~Brendol Hux from Servants of the Empire: The Secret Academy_ **

Sansa met with Brendol Hux in his office on the planet of Arkanis where his Academy once stood. “It is good to see a man who has his job cut out for him.” Hux moved to bow but Sansa stopped him, holding her hand in mid-air. “Please no pleasantries. I didn’t come for a social visit.”

“Why did you come then, my lady?”

“My daughter has married that bastard. The Emperor told my husband that his lordship, Commander Tudor captured Kenobi’s bastard and she’s recently given birth to their offspring. I want reassurance that if my son or daughter come to their rescue, they will be unharmed and brought to me first.”

“You are not in the position to make such demands. I have become a general and I do not have that kind of authority.”

“But you will in the future. The Emperor trusts you.” Sansa said which made Hux smirk.

“Trust is a funny word, my lady. The Emperor trusts no one. He raised me up because I am the only one left within my ranks with vision. It has been a dream of mine to search for officers who would be the perfect soldiers. Unfortunately, that has all come to naught. The Emperor refuses to implement my plan. With your husband and now lord Tudor as his seconds, it will be years before I do.”

“Then make him see you are right. You trained Eddard and Lyanna. You said it yourself -they are the best of the best. If you convince them to bend the knee to him again, he will spare them and agree to your demands.”

“You should have been made Grand Moff instead of your husband. You have more vision than him, but the die has been cast as your son loved to say. The Emperor will never forgive their betrayal and given what your lord husband has stated, neither will he.” General Hux sighed. “The man is too moral for his own good.”

 _That, we can agree on._ Despite Jon’s life lessons, he was still driven by duty. He didn’t understand how the galaxy worked. It was up to Sansa -as always- to save their family.

“But he still loves his children so if you were lucky to convince him, he might be able to sway the Emperor to see our way.”

Sansa would have been annoyed by the way he used ‘our’ if it wasn’t for her need to guarantee her offspring’s safety. “And when he does? What about the lady Mary and Lord Vader? They cannot be allowed to influence them again.”

“That won’t be a problem. The Emperor is more interested in Vader’s son and bastard daughter than in his former hand. They are young whereas he grows old and as far as he knows, more impressionable. I can’t say the same about the lady Mary. The Emperor wants the other two clones back.”

“As long as Lady Mary lives, Vader will continue to fight.”

“He will fight regardless of what happens to her. Like his former master, he feels the galaxy owes him something and maybe it does, but it is a fool’s errand. Even if he and the rebellion succeed, he will never be accepted by the new government. In their minds, he will always be a threat.” Then he added: “Are you sure you want to kill her oldest son?” Knowing what was on her mind, carefully observing how her face changed every time she said Mary’s name.

“I don’t want just him dead, I want her new bastard dead. If Vader is a threat to the Empire, her offspring are a threat to me.” She said, underlining the last word.

“Pity. The Jedi searched the galaxy for babies and young children who shared their sorcerous gifts and trained them from the cradle. A child born out of your daughter and Owen would have great Force potential and with the recent findings that red priests’ blood runs in his blood, imagine what that child will do.” General Hux said. “During my time at Arkanis, the former Inquisitors, including the lady Mary, searched for potential Force-users. Most were killed, others were trained only to be killed again. Those that weren’t, continued to train under my command. Since the destruction of the death star, the emperor has become paranoid and has closed this and many other Academies. He is determined to have everyone bend to his will or suffer the consequences. He keeps himself closeted from Imperial officers, except for a few, and says nothing to the rest except a few words regarding his future, lamenting that he won’t be there to see “the new dawn” as he calls it and then there is your husband’s witch who says more than ever “the night is dark and full of terrors and it will consume us all.”” He filled his silver goblet with Dornish wine. “I always regarded their superstition as nothing more than that, superstition. Now I see it is much more than that.” He paused then said. “The Emperor has always felt that the universe beyond the edges of ours was where his power came from. Over the many years, he and our aids have sent men and women beyond known space. They built labs and communication stations on distant moons, asteroids out there in the wilds. And recently he has sent Thrawn. That can only mean one thing: He has seen his demise and wants to fill the power vacuum when he meets his end.”

“My lord husband will never agree with your new order. Jon’s red witch will be more hesitant.” Sansa said. She had tried to change her point of view, but the red witch was loyal to Jon, telling Sansa that her mission in life was to serve whoever the red god told her to serve.

“Lady Carise will be of aid to us there.” General Hux said. “She is as loyal as they come but she is also a pragmatist. She has been a student of mine and before your son was betrothed to that rich slut from Naboo, her parents had plotted to marry her to your son. If you convinced Jon to bring your offspring back to you and the Emperor to pardon them, we could form an alliance and in the Empire’s aftermath, look for eligible warriors.”

“And my daughter?” Sansa asked, curios to see if he’d still consider her earlier marriage proposal.

Brendol Hux smirked. “Your daughter would make any man proud but I have my eyes set on another.”

“Who?” Sansa asked, immediately going on defense mode, wondering who was the worthless chit he was considering to take as his wife, over her worthier daughter.

“Lady Valeryn Brin.” The answer took her by surprise.

“She belongs to an impoverished house from Lothal. You could do better.” Sansa said.

“She is the perfect candidate. Her family’s welfare will depend solely on her obedience to me. If she irks me or entertains thoughts of having amorous affairs behind my back, her family will be destroyed in the blink of an eye.”

“So you turn down my daughter in favor of someone you can control. Where does that leave her?”

He brought the silver cup to his lips then put it down and looked at her pointedly. “Let her enjoy the boy for a few years. If we are to succeed, we will need all the potential we can get, that includes your descendants.”

“I will not let one Kenobi mix with my bloodline.”

“You are confusing pride with dignity. That is going to get you nowhere.” General Hux said but lady Sansa’s mind was made up. Mary represented everything she was not. The former Tudor, Kenobi bastard was a whore whereas Sansa was a woman of impeccable reputation with accomplished offspring. Traitors or not, they were the best of the best and it was a shame that such potential was going to be laid to waste because of their mother’s feelings.

**~o~**

Ned fired a few shots. He was going to help the Rebels get lady Mary back. He doubted that Lord Tudor had security personnel outside his new offspring’s nursery. The man cared more about the lady Mary, using her as bait, to get her mother than his newborn son.

“Damn it.” He failed one. He wished he didn’t have to accompany the Jedi, Obi Wan Kenobi, or lord Vader. The latter was ok, the former, not so much. Bess and Mary Stuart told him everything would be alright. He wasn’t so sure. His father was there. Lya could feel him. The two were closer than Ned was. She was after all the focus of their parents’ ambitions. Lya the beauty, Lya the lady, Lya the warrior. While he was the person they vent their frustrations on.  
He was supposed to be the warrior, the well accomplished gentleman. The man who was not afraid to take initiative. His mother told him that when he was ten, his father won his first fight against a mock army lord Arryn sent his way when he was being trained with his companion, Robert Baratheon. Ned’s grandmother was worse. She told him that in spite of his appearance, he wasn’t worthy of having the name of the great Eddard Stark, the last Warden of the North.

He threw the weapon away. If his father was in that star destroyer, then he would have to face him. If he didn’t, his father would hear of his betrayal and relay the details of his mission to Sansa and Catelyn Stark, earning more scorn from the two of them.

Turning around his eyes focused on the blaster. It floated then it was dropped. He had the Force but he rarely used it. He wasn’t strong in it as Owen or the Skywalker siblings were. He turned around again and headed to his room. He needed sleep. His mind needed to be cleared, tomorrow he would be training with the Skywalkers, and afterwards going over the rescue plan with the rebel leaders.

* * *

Obi Wan would hate Catherine for this. But she had no other choice. Arthur had sent an ultimatum to them. The "raven" as the drone model was called, was received yesterday. In it was Arthur's message. A hologram of him dressed in white uniform, standing erect as she remembered his father did when he issued orders to his councilors. He told them that Mary had given birth to a boy she insisted on naming "Ben." Hearing this brought joy to Catherine's heart. Her daughter wasn't far gone. In spite of her lover's insults, she had reconciled herself with her parents. Naming the baby after her father told her she yearned for their approval.  
Arthur added, a slow smile spreading on his regal features, that he would let her go and the child go if Owen or Catherine were returned to him.

Her grandson slammed his fist on the projector table and told them they needed to hand him over. But they pointed out that her father would not fulfill his promise. He wanted Catherine, not him. His desire for her was as strong as ever, and the rebel leaders were not willing to lose one of their wisest members for a woman they despised.

 _"You must be strong. Ned Targaryen-Stark and Anakin Skywalker will be going over the details of the mission tomorrow. They will get her and your grandson back."_ Anne had told her, putting her hand on her shoulder but Catherine wasn't so sure.

 _There is only one way out of this._ Obi Wan would never forgive her. She had turned her back on him twice, she had promised nothing would ever get between them. But this was different. Mary was in this mess because of her. She had driven her to Arthur's arms. As much as Anne and Jane tried to pin the blame on Anakin -and even Mary- the fact remained it was all Catherine's doing. If she had never lied to her daughter about her origins, if she hadn't insisted on calling herself queen and written to her daughter, urging her to fight for her "right of inheritance", Mary would have never let herself be convinced by Anakin and then turn to the dark side by Arthur.

Blocking her thoughts from Obi Wan as he walked into the room, she made him promise they'd get their daughter back. "We will, Catherine. I promise." He said, pulling her into an embrace. "No harm will come to her, I swear."

"I know, I just needed to hear it again." Catherine said, smiling a small smile.

It was wrong to lie to him, but she was a mother first and rebel leader, Jedi lover, second.

**~o~**

The following morning, before Obi Wan woke up, Catherine dressed in simple clothes. She looked in the mirror before exiting their room. She was still young. Obi Wan loved her no matter how she looked, but she saw that beneath that mask of calmness, it bothered him that she might harbor discontent for his aging face. She assured him that she felt the same way about him, but he was never convinced.

Aging this slow was a curse. She turned away, left their bedroom and headed to the hangar bay. She took on one of the ships and set it on auto pilot, putting the right coordinates. As it flew off, Catherine looked down at her clasped hands on her lap. She knew what awaited her. What she would suffer at Arthur's hands, and the things he'd forced her to do. It was a high price to pay for Mary's safety.

And after her daughter was returned to her family -along with her newborn son- she'd forget about her pain and do everything that was asked of her.

* * *

 

When Obi Wan found out about Catherine's actions, he was speechless. It was not until Sir Thomas Seymour told them that she had sent them a message, asking not to go after her that he found his voice. "Where is the ship at this moment?"

"You are too late for that. The ship has set course for the Alpha Prime Wolf Star Destroyer. Even if we were to board a ship now, we'd be too late." Sir Thomas said turning to Princess Leia, the woman he least wanted to see, and Lady Marion. "Given the circumstances however, we have no choice but to mount another rescue mission."

Princess Leia nodded. "We need to take whatever soldiers we can. If the lady Catherine falls into Lord Tudor or Grand Moff Targaryen's hands, she will be interrogated about our other bases' locations."

"Perhaps she already has." Sir Thomas said. 

"I doubt that. Whatever your personal feelings are Sir Thomas, Lady Catherine has been loyal to the rebellion. She will die before they break her." Lady Marion said.

"Which is why we need to act now before it is too late." Princess Leia said, shuddering as she thought of her own torture at the hands of her father. "The Empire might not get her to talk but their methods are pretty convincing. And they will use her daughter and grandson if she refuses."

"Who will go?" Princess Leia asked looking at everyone in the assembly room.

"I will go." Ned said. "I said I would go the first time. I am the only one who knows how to get past the ship's defenses and if we go now, I can contact my colleague and he can get us in undetected."

Leia nodded. "Anyone else?"

"I will go." Obi Wan said, surprising everyone. 

"With all due respect General, with the lady Catherine, lady Mary and your grandson aboard this ship, it makes your participation less reliable."

"I understand your concerns Your Highness and I promise you, my personal feelings won't get in the way."

Princess Leia wasn't so sure of that. For all his self-control, Obi Wan Kenobi was still human and seeing his lover and daughter tortured at the hands of the former's first husband, would likely set him off. Leia decided that he'd stay, then she turned to Lya. "You know the inside of that star destroyer as well, am I right?"

"I do." Lya said, knowing where she was going with this and to show the Princess that she was ready, she raised up her chin and gave her a serious expression.

"You will go as well. Captain Antilles, you will show Owen to one of our ships."

"Yes, Your Highness." Wedge said.

"All four of you will stay here, the rest of you are dismissed."

Anakin wasn't too happy with the way things had turned out but kept his mouth shut. After everyone left the room, he headed to the mess hall which was currently deserted. Obi Wan followed and sensing the tension between the two men, Luke and Jane Kyra followed them as well. The two had stayed behind to overhear what Leia, Marion, Mon and the other elders had to say to the four members chosen for the rescue mission.

Obi Wan looked at Anakin uneasily. The two refused to talk. After what seemed an eternity Luke broke the silence by telling them they had recovered the security code for Arthur's apartments.

"Ned will create a diversion so they can pass undetected."

Obi Wan thanked him. Luke left the two men alone, along with his sister who had no words other than repeating the security pass phrase from the screen.

"You must feel really happy." Anakin started. "Qui Gon preferred me over you all these years, that you couldn't wait to see me fail so you could prove to your master that he was wrong and you were right."

"Don't be ridiculous. It was never like that."

"What was it like then Obi Wan? You were the Jedi's greatest achievement, while I was the face of heroism. A responsibility I never wanted, yet the Council was happy to exploit it at my expense and then blame me for it whenever they felt like it."

"The Council saw that you were becoming arrogant and wanted to make sure you didn't make the same mistakes I made."

"I never intended to. I believed in the Jedi, I believed in the Republic!"

"Is that why you slaughtered younglings and thousands of your fellow brothers and sisters?"

"The Jedi were becoming corrupt and what Mace Windu wanted to do was murder."

"And that gave you the right to turn on the Jedi Order? Because of what one man did you saw fit to destroy thousand year old tradition?"

"The Jedi was bound to fail Obi Wan, if it wasn't me someone else would have taken my place by Sidious' side."

"How noble of you, sparing the burden from some poor devil."

"It is not simple as you think."

"You are right Anakin, it is not. It is far simpler." Obi Wan said. His eyes -which had shown no emotion previously- were now ablaze with fury.

"You thought you could have it all because you are the chosen one, and when reality came crashing on your doorstep you tried to hide and run away from your responsibilities, all the while you betrayed and murdered your fellow Jedi because you refused to face your destiny and Mary, the only woman who ever saw right through you and loved you for who you were, was left to pick up the pieces but that wasn't enough for you. You had to see her suffer because she reminded you of you and you hated what you were; so you destroyed the last bit of humanity she had and made her into the monster she is now."

"I didn't hold a gun to your head and told you to leave Mary and join the Emperor, I stuck my neck out for you. So did Pamde but when Master Yoda showed us the security recordings of you killing younglings, we knew what we had to do." Obi Wan paused. "And still … Padme believed in you and Mary, even after Padme died, she came to me and her mother and told me that you weren't a monster and that if you saw her and her twins you'd go back to the light side. When Catherine and I finally convinced her to give up her children, she cried herself to sleep and remained indoors for days. Owen didn't want her to visit Luke or Jane Kyra; and when Arthur came and told her the truth about her parentage, she freaked."

"You can't blame me for that. Arthur turned her into that."

"No, Anakin. Arthur took advantage of her, but he wasn't the only who started her on the path to the dark side. It was you, it was Katherine and it was also me."

Anakin blinked.

Obi Wan smirked. "You heard me right. I refused to acknowledge her and her mother because I was afraid. I wanted to be a good Jedi, and being a father was something I wasn't prepared for. I ran away, forced my lover to lie, and Mary to run into you."

"And here you are accusing me of a coward."

"You are a coward Anakin. The only difference between you and me is that I admit it and face my problems face to face, while you refuse to. It's why you lost Padme and it is why you will lose Mary."

* * *

The last time she saw Arthur, she begged him for her brother's life. _"He has done you no harm."_ She told him but he said, _"But he has hurt you. He needs to pay."_ She saw him torture many innocent souls at the Emperor's request. Often times, the Emperor did not finish his sentence. Arthur would record every scream, every twitch and delight himself in watching them beg for mercy. His favorite game was **"is there a God?"**  
She had no love for Doctor Butts who spread lies about her and her family, but she didn't bear any ill wish for him. In Arthur's eyes however, he deserved everything he got. Taking him from his home and forced him to decide on whom he killed first, Arthur had broken him and taken away the only thing that gave him strength: his faith.

Watching him now brought back all those awful memories. Arthur ordered his men to take down her restraints. "Catalina ..." He breathed. "Welcome back. So long has passed, you look as beautiful as the day we married." He ran his fingers down her silky dark hair. She was like a goddess, imposing and beautiful, undeserving of any man except for him.

He had been a fool for thinking that her bastard daughter would be enough to satiate his hunger. He could not be content until he had his true wife besides him.

"I am here as you ordered. Now hand over my daughter and my grandson to the rebellion. That was the deal."

He smiled sardonically.

"You promised." Catherine said, glaring at him. 

Arthur said nothing, clapping his hands instead. The door to the nursery opened to reveal a thin, expressionless woman, dark auburn haired and with dark grey eyes. She bobbed her head down to Arthur's guest, then dropped, giving a quick curtsy to her master, Arthur. She was careful not to drop the baby she was carrying. 

Catherine gasped. "Mary!" She ran straight to her daughter but she didn't seem to recognize her. "Mary it is me, your mother." When she didn't respond she turned to Arthur. "What have you done to her?"

"I just made her better. It is a simple procedure. Wipe out her memories and leave what I want in." Arthur explained going to Mary, signaling the silver choker with the red jewel in the middle. "I was almost tempted to take it off, but then I thought to my father's fools and my mother's ladies. They always wore the best and as simple as she is now, I can't let my son's servant be tended by someone in dirty rags can I?"

"You monster!" Catherine raised her fist at Arthur but he gripped her wrist. 

He laughed. "Did you really think I was going to let go of my son?" Releasing her, he headed in Mary's direction again. "Now that you are here, we can go back to the way things were and be a mother to my child."

Catherine cursed Arthur again, waking up her grandson. Arthur turned to Mary. "Dear Bella, won't you be so kind and return the child to his crib? And sing him a song while you are at it."

 _Bella_ nodded, saying "Yes Master" then turning to Arthur's wife and saying "Mistress."

 _Catherine dropped to her knees._  
 _Mary!_   
She had failed her. She had failed her daughter. Arthur let Catherine cry and curse him all she wanted. It didn't change anything. She was with him now, and soon her Jedi lover would follow. When he arrived he would kill him and then nothing would stand in his way.

What neither of them noticed was the jewel in  _Bella's_ choker begin to shine. As she sang to her master's newborn son, it shined brighter. Suddenly she remembered a young woman dancing in a ball with a Jedi Knight who whispered in her ear 'I love you'. That was followed by another memory, of a bastard Princess smiling at her 'husband' as he caressed her face before he locked his lips against her. Then came the one where she had been given this jewel by her father and Anakin came afterwards, complimenting her on her beauty and style. The last words she heard from him were 'Always.' As the jewel continued to shine, Anakin and Obi Wan became more aware of her presence and realizing what had happened, they sprung into action.


	39. Crown of Thorns

_o see if I can still feel  
I focus on the pain  
to see if anything is real  
The needle tears a whole  
The all familiar stain  
Tried to kill it all away  
but I remember everything  
  
What have I become  
my sweetest friend?_   
_Everyone I know, goes away_   
_in the end ..."_   
__**~Hurt by Johnny Cash**

Arthur told Catherine that her troubles were over. That now that she was here, it would be as before. But she was still struck by her new maidservant. _She will get pass this_. Arthur thought. It wasn’t as if he killed her. He did her a favor by bestowing a great honor on her. An honor that in his view, she didn’t deserve, but he knew how much it would mean for his dear Catalina.

After she ceased crying, like the warrior she was, she took his jeweled dagger, sheathed in his belt at his hip, and launched herself at him but he stopped her before she plunged it in his heart.

“This is pointless, Catalina.” He told her, squeezing her wrist harder, forcing her to drop the blade. “Mary is gone, Bella is all there is now. I suggest you get used to it.”

“You sound just like your brother when you say that.”

His cheeks turned scarlet red. _Good_ , Catalina thought. _Hit me, show me just how much like Henry VIII you are_. She was daring him but Arthur calmed himself immediately. “You have great gifts Catalina.” He said smoothly pushing his lips against hers. She bit his lips. He screamed but didn’t hit her, instead, he took her to his bedchamber and pushed her unto the large bed.

“You remember this, don’t you? I was ready to make you happy that I ordered a bed just for you. The letters I wrote to you were not by mentor Bernard Andre, although your lady mother wanted you to believe that, because she feared that you would form an attachment to me that would interfere with their interests.”

“I never doubted your passion for me Arthur but that is all there was to our marriage. Passion. Duty. There was never any love.”

“That is not true. I loved you, more than I ever loved anyone, including my sisters, my brothers, even my parents. When I was dying I had a vision of Melusina, smiling on me as she told me that the curse the Woodville whores had placed on my father’s offspring would take me as it took many of my mother’s unborn children. I vowed then, that if God gave me another chance to be with you, I would do everything in my power to persecute every last one of them.” His smile widened. “Your daughter is the goddess reborn and just as I told those ghostly whores before you came, I will make her relive the horrors of what she’s done every day as she watches everyone she loves turn their backs on her, and the woman who gave birth to her, in my bed, making sweet love to me while she is next door, crying herself to sleep.”

“Arthur, don’t do this. What your grandmother and mother did was wrong. Show me you are the better man. Show me that you are not like them. Prove to them that you can do better.” Her pleas went unanswered and she struggled to get free, he won and had his way with her.

~o~

Sansa watched with glee as Mary was bullied by for her former servants. “How the mighty have fallen. You don’t remember us right, my lady?” Said one of them, giving her a mock nod. Another one gave her a mock reverence. “You told us you’d cut our tongues if we didn’t watch over your little brat.” She put her leg forward in Mary’s way which made her fall.

“Stop.” Bella managed to say.

They laughed. “Stop. Stop.” They repeated, pushing her again when she got up. One of them whispered something in her ear which made Bella cover her ears.

“Please … stop.” Bella whimpered, lowering her head so they wouldn’t see the tears flowing from her eyes.

“Snap out of it Princess. Or is still Princess? Tudor, Kenobi, whatever you are, I can never keep up with your lot.” One of them said then said something to the others which made Bella scared and she tried to run away but they held her back. Ripping part of her dress, they signaled one of their group to get the wine. “Do as I command!” They shouted. “Isn’t that what you always said? Do as I command or I will make you regret the day you were born.”

Sansa decided to come out of her hiding spot and tell them to stop. Her idiotic maids dispersed and left Sansa and their former mistress, to their own devices. “Shame.” They told one another. “I would give up my monthly credits to see what lady Targaryen does to the little bastard.”

Sansa approached Arthur’s new _servant._ “Your name will disappear. If anyone of importance remembers you -it will be only because of the ridicule you will face day in and day out from this day forward until your last.”

Bella _seemed_ to understand -as much as a nim-wit like her could, anyway- what she was saying but at Sansa’s cold tone that came with her next words, she flinched and looked away. Sansa grabbed her chin with two fingers of her right hand and forced her to face her. “You said that you had royal blood flowing through your veins. That unlike me, you had seen the world and bore greatness in your belly. It is my offspring who will be remembered for their loyalty and service to the Empire and the new order.” She said, referring to Brendol Hux’s plans after the Empire’s fall. “History will remember the victors. They will write about how your son took advantage of my daughter and Lyanna, poor, naïve and beautiful Lyanna, believed his every word.” She said. “Watching you like this gives me no pleasure. From one woman to another, I admired your struggle when you were an impoverished royal bastard at the court of your father. But then your mother’s deception was uncovered and it turned out you were not who you say you were, but a monster and a whore just like your mother. At least lady Elizabeth, for all her mother’s faults and her rebel affiliations, is the daughter of a king. You are nothing but a shameless fraud who had to use pity to get by. When was the last time you knew pain, you saw your family die before your eyes?” She squeezed her face harder. “I lived with my pain for years. I never protested or complained about the way my husband was treating me. I played the dutiful wife because I knew my place in society and because it kept my family safe. You on the other hand, had to cry wolf at every criticism you received from the holo-press, the Emperor, your lover and just about everyone you could find.” She withdrew blood from each side of her face. It got into her clean nails, trickling all the way to _Bella’s_ neck. “I watched my father be beheaded by two of the most disgusting people in Westeros. A year later, I heard how their spies turned my brother’s men against him, killed him and his pregnant wife, and my mother and had to watch as that Lannister bitch’s bastard son Joffrey, made fun of their deaths during his wedding. And yet, when I saw him choking to death, looking to his mother for help, I empathized with him. But all that empathy died when I was married for a second time to Ramsay Bolton.” She swallowed as she remembered the ordeal she faced at his hand. “Watching him die gave me such joy that I couldn’t stop smiling for days. What you suffered at Arthur’s hand pales in comparison to what I suffered at Ramsay. And yet here you are -crying, cowering in fear like some weakling.” She let her go. Bella fell backwards.

“As bad as your mother is, I respect her. She was a Queen and Princess. Royal blood runs through her veins. You are nothing but a fraud. Not even a real Princess, but a bastard and a poor one at that. You spread your legs for the first pretty face you see. I had to go through starvation, see my father die and heard of my family’s destruction and what did I get? A dwarf for a husband. A rapist for a husband. You have no idea how good you had it. Would that I had your life, I would not have wasted it on Skywalker or debased myself by playing the whore with the next being thing, Prince Arthur.” Sansa coldly laughed. “But why am I wasting my time with you? You are an idiot, you always have been an idiot and now you are going to live the rest of your life seeing as everyone treats you as you should have been treated from the start.”

Sansa moved closer, once Bella had risen, to take the choker from her neck. But her fingers were centimeters away it set sparks flying. Sansa backed away. “Witch.” She yelled doing the sign of the cross that Christians did for witches in Europe before the Empire.

“I … not a witch. Bella apologizes.”

“Get off me, you freak.” Lady Sansa said pushing her away. “If I ever see your son, your oldest son, do you understand that? I will order my men to shoot him on sight and if I see your face in these halls again, I will make you regret it.”

Bella nodded. Though she did not fully understand why this woman was so mad. What had she done to incur her wrath?

“Now get out.” Sansa lastly said and Bella turned on her heels and left, afraid that she would get hit again.

“You are being impertinent.” Jon said, having watched the whole thing. He came from his hiding spot, his face showed nothing but dismay. “Anakin will come for her and he will just have to look at her to see into her mind and guess what you’ve done.”

“Good, then he will warn her bastard to stay away from our daughter.”

Jon shrugged. “Our daughter made her choice. There is little we can do to change that. And if there is a child-“

“Do not say it. I will not let our blood mix with that of hers.”

“If there is a child, we will have to recognize it.”

“Is that your response to everything? We just have to accept it? When I told you to listen to me, you didn’t and you nearly cost us our victory. If it wasn’t for me, you would have lost and I would have gone back to Ramsay or worse, to Littlefinger.”

“I have fought our battles. Who has been killing, and ordering his men to execute traitors? It certainly has not been you.”

“Yes, you have fought in battles and your skill with the sword and even the blaster is well known. Under you, many good men have risen through the ranks and you have gained a good reputation. But I have fought too, not in the battlefield mind you, but in the political arena. It was me who was in charge of arranging our son’s marriage, it was me who comforted him when you were away after the death star destruction and it was me who has been going behind Vader’s back, ensuring that your friend didn’t land himself in the same mess as before. It was me who told Tudor of what his whore was doing behind his back. And still … he ended up right where he started twenty-five years ago.”

“Are you finished?” Jon asked. Sansa said nothing, Jon’s look was one she knew all too well, and she would have been a fool if she crossed him when he was like this. “I did not ask you to fight my wars for me but Anakin has always been a friend, in ways you cannot understand, the two of us have understood one another as if we were brothers. He was my friend before I met Sam. You knew about politics so I asked you to help me keep Anakin away from her so he wouldn’t commit the same mistake. I was wrong and I am brave enough to admit it but you can’t even do that because that would be too much to ask for a high-born lady like you.”

He paused then resumed, adding, “Had you let our daughter make her own choice and marry that boy, none of this would have happened.”

“I could not.”

“Why? Why so much hatred for that boy? What did he do to you?”

“It is not what he did. It is what he will do!” Sansa said, losing her patience.

Her startling loss of regality surprised him, but the fear that shown on her eyes surprised him even more. His wife was well known for keeping secrets, but when it came to their children, she was very vocal.

“Did Melisandre reveal something to you?”

“No. It wasn’t her. It was my lady mother.”

Jon narrowed his brow. What could that hag possibly tell her that caused such an impact on her?

“Do you remember when we captured a so called prophet working for Catherine de Medici?”

“Yes.” Jon remembered him very well. The Queen Dowager of France, as she loved calling herself after her husband and father-in-law died, was one of the more ruthless leaders of the rebellion which operated in the unexplored regions of the galaxy. She had found out about their secret labs on Jakku and with a newly found seer who told her it was the right moment to strike, she and the rebels surprised his men. It took Jon no less than two seconds to know it was her, but the revelation that she had known **_exactly_** where to hit made him nervous and he went to his greatest source regarding the supernatural to confirm his suspicions. _“The Italian woman has a seer. Mind you, not a well-trained seer, but he has visions. More than me and if he continues, I can only foresee doom for you and me.”_ You didn’t have to be a seer to know that. Jon managed to track where they were and ordered their execution immediately. His wife was with him and asked to meet with him so he could tell her about her future. Since Melisandre only talked to Jon, she wanted to see if she could coax him into working for her but when he refused, she went out of her way to allow the Stormtroopers to do their job.  
Now Jon wondered if there was something else he’d told her.

“I asked him what would be of our son and daughter. He said that our son would always be a good leader and protector to his sister’s spirit. I asked him to speak clearly then he told me what my mother told me years earlier, that if our daughter stays with that boy, she will die.”

“And you believed him?” Jon asked, choosing to be skeptical. “Gods, Sansa, how many times have our families been at the mercy of prophets and stupid prophecies? Prophecies are double edges swords, they only come true if people believe in it. Look at the Jedi. They believed that Anakin was their chosen one, the one who would put an end to the Sith. Look how that turned out!”

“This is different. I could see the seriousness in his eyes. If our daughter remains with that boy, she will die.”

“She will die if you keep up with that silly belief. Did it ever occur to you, you might have avoided that by simply letting her and Owen be from the first place?” Jon queried. Before Sansa could answer, he chuckled coldly and provided an answer for her. “Of course you didn’t. You just went around doing what you thought you knew best without consulting me, just like your mother.”

“At least my mother took the initiative to take what she wanted and never lamented it. To this day, Lyanna remains the romantic figure. The one who got away from Robert’s grasp, Westeros’ very own Helen of Troy. How many lives were lost because the dragon had to have his wolf? How many lives Jon? You won’t even answer me that.” She took a step forward. “I won’t have my daughter be another Helen of Troy, another Jezebel. You have the influence thanks to your name and your rank to appeal to the Emperor and convince him to pardon Lya and Ned.”

“I do but at this stage he won’t even listen to me.”

“He will if you appeal to his sensibilities.” Jon laughed at this.

“What sensibilities?” He asked, still roaring with laughter.

When it died down, his wife said: “Our daughter is a woman, to be pitied and pass over as the weaker of our species. She fell in love with a dashing young man who swept off her feet. A promising young warrior who said he would release her from the rigidity of having to contract a union with someone her parents arranged. When she realized his true intentions, she tried to run away but he kept her back and sent a raven to her brother who was threatened if he tried to get her back. Naturally, he couldn’t be far from his sister, especially on the fifth anniversary of the death star’s destruction. He thought about his future wife and the child she was carrying, so he ran away and pretended to be on the rebellion’s side so he could watch over her.”

Jon shook his head, unable to believe the gall of his wife. “You are truly something. You and your mother are truly something.”

 _We are._ But Sansa kept her mouth shut. _Let him be angry and play the self-righteous knight again who always know better. Let him think that women like me who can’t raise a sword are meant to do nothing but to curtsey and follow their husband’s every word. Soon he will see I am right._

Jon left his wife, not wishing to stomach any more of her plotting. He was a soldier through and through. He was willing to break certain rules to get what he wanted, but by the end of the day, he was one of the most honorable the Empire had. _Shame, he can be much more._

Sansa turned on her heel and left. She stayed longer just so she could catch _Bella_ again and taunt her. _Never again will I have to bob a curtsey to that dirty whore._ Her lady mother was another story altogether. She hated the idea of lord Tudor having his way with her. But that is the way things were in war. Anything goes. And if it wasn’t her, it would be Sansa or worse, Lyanna. She couldn’t afford to be moralistic in a situation like this. Survival was everything.

* * *

“At ease, Admiral.” Anakin told his former crew member. Piett owed everything he had to Vader and despite Anakin stressing since their conversation through a secure channel on their comlinks, that he was simply Anakin, to him, he would always be lord Vader.

Piett lowered his hand. He was pleased to see his former commanding officer again. There were many who asked him ‘How is it you managed to live all these years without getting choked?’ His response was simply a shrug. There really was no answer. He supposed he was lucky. He was a good officer but so were many others who happened to be victims of Lord Vader’s wrath. He just happened to be at the right place at the right time.

Piett did not offer the same salute to Obi Wan Kenobi. The “enemy” he was taught. Everything in his being screamed to shoot at this traitor, but he refrained himself from doing it. Spotting lord Eddard Starl after he took his Stormtrooper helmet, saluting the man who was superior in rank to him, Admiral Piett saluted him back.

“This way. We don’t have much time. They will be here any minute. If they found out you used one of their ships, they will take you directly to Grand Moff Targaryen himself.”

“My father-“ Ned cleared his throat, mentally slapping himself for showing emotion. Traitor or no traitor, Ned was still a soldier at heart and Piett was a superior. “My lord Targaryen is here?” He asked, serious.

“Yes, Lieutenant.” Admiral Piett, excusing the youth’s slip of tongue, and added as they continued to walk towards the elevator.   
When they neared it, despite the deserted corridors, the young Targaryen put his helmet back on again. It never hurt to be too cautious. Once inside, Piett disabled the security cameras and turned to his guests. “Grand Moff Targaryen wanted to inspect repairs aboard this vessel and he is overseeing that everything goes according to plan with the construction of the second death star.”

“It is not done yet?” Obi Wan asked hopeful. Reading this man was difficult. Jedi mind tricks worked on the weak of mind and by what he could see in this man’s stone cold eyes, he was anything but weak.

“There have been a few delays. Nothing major.” Admiral Piett said, as if he was justifying the delays to the Emperor himself.

“How longer will it take?” The former lord of the Sith asked.

Tarkin hesitated. These were the type of questions that every one of his former officers hated to be ask. One wrong answer and you were done. Vader didn’t taunt, didn’t shout. He just did. It is why he’d been respected and feared throughout the galaxy.  
“How long Admiral?” Vader asked again, this time his tone hardened.

Tarkin swallowed. He gave the best answer he could think of under these circumstance. “Three, maybe four years.”

Vader swore. Ned looked at him with disbelief while Obi Wan offered a cocky grin.

“Well, we can’t be more fortunate.”

“On the contrary Master Kenobi. If the Emperor is taking this long it is because he doesn’t have enough resources which will lead to heavy taxation and major rioting.”

“Which works for us. Once the people see with their own that everything the rebellion has said is true, they will join our cause.”

“Join or die, freedom at the cost of many. Is that it with the rebel alliance?” Ned asked, unable to withhold his temper.

“I am afraid Master Kenobi is right. The Empire will only be helping the Rebels cause if he continues with these Inquisitorial measures.” Admiral Piett said, not wishing to see the youth’s temper escalate.

“The Emperor will not have to do such thing when he has your father and lord Tudor as well General Jer-Jerrod and other high officials to do the dirty work for him. There will be riots and when these force the Emperor to address his subjects, he will give excuse after excuse while still appearing strong and lay the blame on his cabinet’s soldiers.”

Partially, changing her mind. “Bad publicity will be bad publicity nonetheless. The bright ones will know it is a sham and the students at the non-Imperial academies will as well because they are blinded by their passion and will want to make themselves look better by publicly declaring the Emperor is a thief who stole their brothers and sisters away, and paint their faces red with blood to prove a point.”

“The students in these academies don’t have any brains the professors are good at indoctrinating sheep. If the Emperor is wise he would put all of them in prison.”

“He has considered it.” Admiral Piett said, “but paranoia has latched herself unto the Emperor’s soul and he says he will not hesitate to use full force against all of them. He gave authorization to your father to launch an air strike on one of Coruscant’s lesser Academies.”

“He can’t be serious.” Ned said. This was the man who preached about self-control and surrounded himself with the best warriors the galaxy had to offer. It seemed unfathomable to Ned that he’d lose control so easily.

“You’d be surprised my young Lieutenant, what people will do when they are desperate.” Obi Wan said, turning to his former friend and pupil, who turned away. His face betrayed nothing and his eyes were like two black holes, menacing, daring.

* * *

Arthur smiled at his mother and grandmother. There were no tears, no pleas, or anything of the sort that had characterized their previous visits to their descendant, this time. There was only silence. However, his father appeared and he had much to say to his firstborn. “What you’ve done is truly unforgivable. When you died, I prayed to God, bring him back to me. Let Melusina’s curse not be true. ‘Your mother whispered in my ear, it is your fault my lord for what your mother did to the princes, my brothers.’ I nearly hit her but then she told me that despite everything, she still grieved for you because you were her son as much as you were mine then reminded me that we were still young and could have more children. Elizabeth then went to her room and dismissed her maids but some of them remained, in the ante-chamber and they heard their mistress cry and called for me. I took your mother in my arms and for the first in years I asked her forgiveness. She asked me ‘you think forgiveness will bring my son back?’ I shook my head. ‘Is that what you expect from me? Another child after the curse is off. Your words will not stop what my lady mother and I set in motion.’ I shook my head again. ‘I didn’t want another child’ I said. ‘I want you.’ And we held each other, and decided to start anew. We would have given everything to have you back. You were our son, our baby boy.”

“I was … once. They took that away from me.” Arthur said, unmoved by his father’s pathetic tale.

“Arthur, you can’t blame them for everything. I am to blame. If I had not let my mother control me, if I had looked past the crown and loved your mother-“

“Oh shut up. If I had not done this, done that. It is too late for apologies Your Majesties. I have more power than you could have ever dreamed of and I have risen through the ranks and it has all been thanks to me.”

Henry VII’s lowered his eyes. “I truly wished that I could have done better as a father.”

“And you think I care what you want? I have everything I ever wanted and it is all thanks to me and the Emperor. Once he succeeds, there will be no one left to question his authority and at last, the galaxy will be at peace and I as one of his most trusted officials will be rewarded with the richest cities on planets like Earth, Felucia and Naboo.”

“The Emperor will get rid of you once you’ve outrun your purpose.” Elizabeth Woodville said, her eyes as cold and steely as when she was Queen and cursed all her enemies, including her sister-in-law which led to the death of her firstborn.

“Is that supposed to make me scared? It angers you, doesn’t it, sweet lady grandmother that your reincarnated ancestress is now at my mercy.” He chuckled. “I suppose if I were you I would be angry as well, then again, I would also look at myself in the mirror and find who the real culprit was behind all this mess.” He turned serious. “Your ancestress will die a servant, and she will be under my leash and being the good pet that she is, she will nod to everything I say.”

Elizabeth Woodville shot daggers from her eyes. Would that she could use her powers to strike him down but now that she was dead she had none. She had underestimated the Emperor. She and her mother and daughter thought they could get to Arthur, but they were wrong. The Emperor had used the cloners in Kamino to clone Arthur, Anne and Catherine and something -or someone- had used forbidden knowledge to bring their souls back from the dead into their new bodies. That something or someone was still out there, lurking in the shadow, and its presence was so strong that every time Elizabeth tried to get close to it, she felt her spirit fade.  
 _Whatever it is. It has been at the center of everything._ It was responsible for having her ancestress reincarnated, and taking powers away from the red priests.  
Elizabeth had always been aware that there were forces stronger than her own and Melusina, but as the years went by, she became careless and thought they were nothing but myths. There was nothing more powerful than her ancestress. How wrong she was.

“And when her father comes?” Elizabeth asked her grandson. “What then? He is still a skilled Jedi and Anakin Skywalker is the chosen one. You cannot defeat the two of them together.”

“That is where Bella comes in. One word to one of my men and she dies. If by some chance he manages to rescue her, I doubt he will want her anymore once he sees what she’s become.”

“Arthur, son …” Elizabeth of York said, trying to get close but something pushed her away. She knew it wasn’t Arthur. Arthur was strong but he wasn’t Force sensitive. There was a dark presence in the room that kept him protected from them. If she tried to approach him again, it would strike her again.  
The force of the blow was not hard to make her fall, but surprisingly it hurt. “There is still time. If you hand Catherine, Mary and her child to the rebels, they will pardon you when the war is over.”

“I will do no such thing. The war will be over but it won’t be them who win. I made a promise that I would crush every one of you until there was no one left but me and my descendants and I will fulfill that promise once I am finished with the Jedi.”

* * *

They say that the death of a child is something that no parent should go through, but for Obi Wan, seeing his daughter tend to her son, like some mindless servant, putting up with Arthur and his servant’s jibes was way worse.

“The alarm system will be deactivated in five minutes. You will have a window of fifteen minutes. If you don’t get them out of here in fifteen minutes, I will have no choice but to sound the alarm and order my men to take you into custody, to avoid any suspicion.”

“You do not have to worry about that Piett.” Anakin told him. “We will be out before anyone notices we were here.”

Unlike Obi Wan, his face revealed nothing of the inner turmoil he was feeling. When his mother died, he killed all of the sand people, including the women and children, blaming them for her death. The revelation shocked Padme.   
_“To be angry is to be human.”_ She had told him. _“I am a Jedi, I am supposed to be better than this.”_ Was his answer. The only person who knew about that besides Padme were Mary and Palpatine. The latter gave him false comfort, while feeding his ego, telling him he had done the right thing and that is what made him better -and different- from his fellow Jedi.  
Mary gave a different answer. She didn’t reproach his behavior, or fed his ego, or told him it was alright, she merely embraced him and said she understood his pain.

Anakin had been born a slave, the things he had seen were horrors no one of his peers today were privy to, except Mary who, through the humiliations she suffered at the hands of Arthur and her former maidens, knew what it was like to be seen as trash.

He thanked Piett for his help then he and his companions headed to Arthur’s rooms.

* * *

 

Leia asked her fellow rebels to call Owen. When he came, she asked him if he knew what his friend had done. Owen shook his head, then said "I wouldn't be surprised though. He was not the boldest in our group but he is one of the best officers and I can guarantee you that he will get them back."

"It is not him I worry about, it is the lady Catherine and Master Kenobi. The General and the former queen are two of our greatest leaders, if one of them dies, the rebellion will lose hope."

"You have the sun twins and with all due respect Your Highness, you also have yourself and my other half-sister."

Leia's tone softened. "Owen, I know this has been a hard adjustment for your wife and her brother, but we cannot afford to give into our feelings. There is too much at stake here. Billions of lives could be lost if they discover where our bases are and the gods only know how many planets will be destroyed once they complete the second death star."

"I know but Ned will not fail. I trust him."

"Let's hope for everyone's sake that you are right." Leia said.

* * *

Catherine tried to get her daughter to remember. "Look at my hands. Remember how I would put my hand against yours and say 'we have strong hands like your grandmother, Queen Isabella'?" 

But Bella withdrew her hand and looked away. A sad expression crossed her face as she saw images flashing before her eyes. Catherine noticed the red jewel shining brighter and got closer. The two women knelt down facing one another. 

"Your father's parents were red priests. This jewel belonged to one of them, it is your heritage. It is telling you to remember. You must remember."

_"Se fuerte hija. Eres descendiente de Isabel y Fernando y algun dia seras reina."_

Bella repeated the words, not sure why she was doing it.

"That's right. Be strong, you are the descendant of Isabella and Ferdinand and one day you will be Queen. I said that to you when your fa- ... When the King sent you to Ludlow. You were very young. I promised that I would visit you often. Now you remember?"

Bella didn't respond. Instead she rose and went to get her mistress' handkerchief so her mother could wipe her tears.

"I do not want this. I want you to remember who you are. The daughter of Catherine of Aragon and Obi Wan Kenobi. The child in the nursery is your baby. You named him Ben after your father and he has older siblings who love and want you back." She said, omitting certain facts, like Marion's dislike for her.

Bella jumped back in fright. 

Catherine rose and wrapped her arms around her. "I am sorry, I shouldn't have yelled. I am happy, see." She gave a small smile but Bella didn't smile back. Instead she looked in the direction of the main door and pointed to it. 

"What is it?" 

Bella didn't answer. She did not have to because the metallic door soon opened, revealing Obi Wan, Anakin and Ned.


	40. Gone but not Forgotten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Major character death in this chapter. I recommend hearing The Humbling River by Puscifier.

_"It'll take a lot more than rage and muscle  
Open your heart and hands my son_  
_or you will never make it over the river_  
_it will take a lot more than words and gun_  
_a whole lot more than riches and muscle_  
_the hands of the many must join as one_  
_and together we will cross the river..."_  
_~The Humbling River by Puscifier_

Catherine couldn’t help herself. She ran straight into Obi Wan’s arms. How old he looks. It dawned on her for the second time in ten years that he had aged, and by the look on his face when they unlocked, he looked more haggard and tired.

She could see he was trying very hard not to look in Mary’s direction. How people judge him. At the base everyone thought he was flawless. The perfect Jedi. While those in the Imperial holo-media loved to mock him and call him a hypocrite. None of them know him like I do.

Obi Wan was a man of many faces. When he smiled, it wasn’t because he was sad or happy; it was to prove a point, to mock, to challenge or to show someone how their insults didn’t trouble him at all. But when nobody was looking, she was and she saw the pain in those blue pools. He was hurt, he felt betrayed, and yet here he was, trying to project confidence, sending waves of comfort to her.

She would never understand the Force, to her there was one God and he worked through mysterious ways but she had come to reconcile her beliefs with his. And in this, she reasoned, perhaps God and the Force were one and perhaps the Almighty had sent him and Anakin, and Jon and Sansa’s son to deliver her and Mary from evil.

Anakin touched Mary’s cheek. He was about to ask her something when her eyes looked down, her eyelashes hiding her sadness. But to Anakin who was the chosen one, who could _feel_ what she felt, just as she could _feel_ him, saw right through her and moved his hand downwards to her chin and lifted it so the two faced each other again.

He gave a small smile. She was unsure if she had to, or that was prohibited by her master as well, but this man brought her confidence and didn’t see her in the way other people saw her. He didn’t make fun of her or call her foul names. He was _nice_. He felt good. So she drew her lips upward into a smile.

“We are going to get you and your mother out of here and your son.” He quickly added the last part hearing some soft mewing from what he guessed was the nursery. He turned to Ned and asked him to take the child.

* * *

This was the plan. In and out in a window of less than fifteen minutes. Yet like all military operations, something went wrong. When they were close to the ship, Mary squeezed Anakin’s harder and constantly repeated ‘No’ over and over again.

“Be quiet, they will hear us.” Catherine hissed, lamenting her tone, but they couldn’t afford her antics at this moment. But Mary said louder ‘no’ and Catherine couldn’t stand it any longer. She turned around and told her in an even harsher tone: “Mary, be quiet.” She sighed and decided to use the name she went by now. “Bella, you must be silent or they will find us.”

That didn’t work either and she turned to Anakin. Anakin’s tone was softer yet his expression was still serious. “What is it? Is he near?”

Bella nodded.

“We can’t waste finding another route. It is now or never. They have guns, we have guns.” Ned said, hating playing baby-sitter. A mentally handicapped woman and an infant were huge set-backs and if they went back, Piett would be forced to sound the alarm and then everything would be lost.  
Ned had no desire to face his mother and hear her hour-long sermons, or his lady grandmother … Just thinking about Catelyn Stark, also known as Lady Stoneheart sent chills down his spine. She constantly reminded him how he could never live up to his maternal grandfather’s reputation. How he was a failure as a soldier and a son. _“You are a follower child, not a leader.”_ Then there was his father. His entire life had been devoted to the service of others, but he was a natural born leader who had earned the respect of his peers. If the two came face to face, there was no telling what he’d do. Ned knew that his father would not hit him, or turn him over to the emperor. As dutiful as the man was, he loved him and Lyanna but treason was something he couldn’t tolerate and just his face alone, would remind Ned of his treason.

“He is right, we can’t go back.” Obi Wan said. He turned to Catherine. “Anakin, Ned and I are skilled fighters, we can take on most of the soldiers. We can distract them long enough for you two to escape.”

“No, we all go together.” Catherine said. “If you get close to him, he will kill you.”

“I know but there is no other way.” Then he said something reassuring smiling at her. “I have faced worse situations and I always come back. We will be fine.” He turned to Anakin who nodded and moved his hand closer to his lightsaber. Most of the Stormtroopers had learned to fear the Emperor as well as his hands. When they saw the former lord of the Sith, the youngest of them would cower in fear, clearing the path for him and Obi Wan to take their leaders.

Anakin didn’t like the idea of battling Jon, but if it came to that, he would.

As they got in the elevator and reached the docking bay, Bella squeezed Anakin’s hand again. Anakin and Obi Wan looked at one another. Ned felt it too. Letting go of her, he took out his lightsaber at the same time that Obi Wan took his and Ned took out his blaster and handed the child to Catherine, and told the two women to run.

A dozen Stormtroopers rushed from the command post along with minor officers and their leader, Arthur Tudor. The latter told them to fire at the three men and a small group to apprehend the two women and his child.

Catherine had learned a few tricks and stood her ground against two Stormtroopers but she was no warrior the way her granddaughters and granddaughter-in-law, or Mary (before becoming Bella) had been, and in her current condition, her daughter was unable to do anything.  
Anakin used his telekinetic powers to send two of them flying across the room but as more Stormtroopers were called, it became impossible. Not one to give up easily, Anakin went to their defense but he was stopped by several officers. Young, bold, they thought they could take on everything and everyone, including the former dark lord of the Sith but they were no match. He cut right through them without any problem but one of their shots, hit Ned and the youth fell to the floor clutching the left side of his waist.

Ned howled in pain. Blaster fires cauterized the wound preventing bleeding, but there were cases where, depending on where you were hit, the wound would bleed profusely. This was one of those cases.  
Anakin watched as Ned’s hand was painted a dark red.

Arthur’s voice rang out amidst the chaos, having Mary, his son and Catherine back with him. He taunted Obi Wan and Anakin, telling them of the horrors he had done to them. Obi Wan was not one to give into anger, except once when a Sith killed his master Qui-Gon Jinn. Anakin had been told of this story before the two were assigned to rescue the Chancellor. Anakin was surprised to find a darker side of his former master. At the time, it made Anakin angry, as well as hopeful that he thought he could confess to him about his marriage to Padme and the relationship with Mary.  
For a second time, Obi Wan fell prey to his anger again.

“Obi Wan don’t. That is what he wants.” Anakin warned him, his tone cold and harsh. The two could take him on but his warning fell on deaf ears.

Giving one last look to Anakin he told his dear friend what he said when they fought on Mustafar. “I failed you Anakin, I failed you.”

“We can take him together. You don’t have to do this. Don’t be stupid.”

Obi Wan shook his head and said with a tone of finality. Ned was still bleeding and he was close to losing consciousness. He had seen this coming. In his nightmares, he always saw himself dying at the hand of either Arthur or Anakin. A part of him was thankful that it would be the former  
He remembered Padme and Mary’s words to him after their children were born. _“There is still good in him.”_ And for the first time in over two decades he came to accept that, and without warning sent Anakin towards the ramp of the open ship along with Ned.

Anakin stood up and was about to turn on his lightsaber when Obi Wan spoke in his mind _. ‘It is over Anakin. You must continue this fight. You were right, I was a coward. I was afraid that you would make the same mistakes I did so I was extra harsh on you.’_

Anakin’s former mentor chuckled mentally. _‘I always did say you were going to be the death of me. I had visions of you cutting me down or dying by Arthur’s hand. Perhaps that is my destiny, perhaps this is the punishment for my sins. Go Anakin. I am old, I lived my life. You and your offspring and the rebellion can still win this. Besides, Ned is young and his knowledge and skills can help the rebels win against the empire.’_

_‘Always the idealist. What makes you think I want to continue this fight?’_

___‘I don’t, but I know that you love Mary and you want your children to be proud of you.’_ Obi Wan paused as Arthur advanced to him, his former lover, wife and son had been taken away so they’d be spared the sight of watching their loved one die at the hands of their tormentor.  
‘Go Anakin.’ Obi Wan said with a tone of finality.

Clearing his head from all doubts, Anakin turned his back on his former master. Their roles had been revered. Anakin was now on the high ground, while Obi Wan as at the mercy of a great lord.

The ramp closed by itself while Anakin used his mind to activate the ship. He sensed Jon for the first time as he finally got to the pilot’s seat. Anakin mentally reassured him that his son was alright. Jon’s presence was undoubtedly the reason why Arthur had ordered the Stormtroopers and the remaining officers not to shoot. Arthur was brash, but not too brash. Having the dragon and his lady wolf for an enemy would not bode well for him. Like Anakin and Jon, Arthur was a pragmatist, and like Anakin an ambitious man who relied on others to maintain his prestige.

Shutting his ears and avoiding curiosity, he looked ahead and once they were out of the Star Destroyer, jumped into hyper-seed.

* * *

Catherine demanded to be let out. She had asked her daughter if there was anything they could use to override the locks. A card, a chip, a password. Anything! But her daughter just kept bringing her tissues and asking if she wanted something else.

It unnerved her to no end! She wanted her Mary back. The girl who fought, who was not afraid to say what was on her mind, even if it got her in trouble, and who bowed to no one, especially to the authority of men. This  this wasn’t her daughter.

“I … am …”

“What? You are what? Angry? Sad? Are you as angry as I am because the man you love might be killed? Do you understand that? Do you know what it means? The man I love and the man you love are out there fighting and we are here stuck like servants and you … you do nothing but say ‘you are sorry’ and whimper like some scared ninny.”

Bella lowered her eyes and went away. Perhaps her mistress would feel better later. She had important things to do like taking care of little Ben.

Catherine yelled. _Why is this happening to me?_ Her daughter, her friends, her lover … all of them lost!

Suddenly a voice broke her chain of thought. A voice she had not heard in a long time. One that had been replaced by a graver, older one in the last decade.

“You shouldn’t be so hard on her. Our Mary is still in there.”

Catherine turned around and came face to face with Obi Wan. No longer did he look old or haggard. His beard was neatly trimmed, auburn as the color of his hair and his eyes showed more vigor.

Catherine cried. “No.” She said. _He can’t be dead. He can’t!_ Seeing her distress, Obi Wan wrapped his arms around her. His touch felt cold.

“I want you here with me, alive. Not like this.” She said then sobbed as his touch felt colder with each passing moment. Her Jedi Knight … dead. Her daughter reduced to a simpleton. Everyone she loved was so far away. A part of her wished that she had died and asked God why couldn’t He take her instead?

“We knew this was coming.”

“But you can’t be dead. You are supposed to lead Luke, Jane Kyra, Marion and Leia to victory. You are their teacher”

“I am no longer their master or their guardian. They are their own masters now. The fate of the galaxy will depend on them and them alone. This is my fate and I’ve come to embrace it. My only regret is that you will still be here long after this is over but I will wait.”

“It is not fair.” Catherine said. Obi Wan wiped their tears. He wished he could cry. He didn’t know if he was capable, but he preferred not to, for Catherine needed to be strong in these hard times.

“Life never is. I did fail Anakin and I failed you and our daughter.”

“No, they made their own choices. You trained Anakin to the best of your abilities and he betrayed you.”

“I could have come clean and guide him in the right direction. I didn’t because I was afraid that he would make the same mistakes I made and in the end he made worse. If I had admitted before the Council of my affair with you and revealed Mary’s parentage, I could have spared everyone a great deal of pain.”

“And then what? Sidious would have become Emperor much sooner. With you out of the way, it would’ve made it far easier for him to manipulate Skywalker and turn him to the dark side and our daughter too.”

“No. I would have found a way, I know I would have to protect the two of you.”

“Always the idealist. I admired that in you. You always said I was strong, even Henry thought so. Before the Blackfriars trial he told me he didn’t care if I was a virgin then laughed and told me that I could afford to be self righteous because I didn’t have a malicious bone in my body. I did not know what it was like to love another and not be able to have that person lying next to me every day. But truth is, I am not strong. I am weak. I need you and I need Mary. I can’t go on with her turned into a freak like she is now.”

“She is not a freak Catherine, she is our daughter.”

“She is not. I want the girl who fought, who screamed, who wasn’t afraid to stand up for what she believed in. Not that useless thing.” Catherine shed more tears. “My Mary is gone.”

“Give her time. She has my blood. The jewel belonged to my ancestors, it will guide and protect her. Have faith Catherine.”

But Catherine wasn’t sure if she could. After Obi Wan left, Bella came. There was a smile on her face.

“Are … you sad … mistress?” Bella asked, approaching her slowly. “Can I help?”

“No, you can’t Bella. Just go.” Bella didn’t move. She cocked her head sideways, not fully understanding. A thought then occurred to her. "The good man was here. He make you happy? Want me to call him?" She started calling him. "Mr. Good, mistress needs you. Make her happy. Mr. Good!"

But her cries drove Catherine insane and when Bella turned her head to hear Ben cry, she said "Maybe he wants to see Mr. Good too." that did it for her. She told her to be quiet.

"Mistress angry?"

"Yes, I am angry."

"Why? I ... want to help. I am good at helping. I can bring him back."

"Just leave!” 

Bella lowered her head. She apologized to her mistress then left.

**~o~**

Bella walked the hallways of the star destroyer in the seventh floor again. And once more she encountered the maids who had tormented her. Joining them were some of Sansa’s who screamed in her ear and laughed as they pushed her around and threw dirty rags at her.

Obi Wan appeared and told them to stop, but their cries and jeers drowned his pleas so he decided to scream. “Stay away from my daughter!” Her former maids and lady Sansa’s turned and at the sight of the Force ghost, ran. One of them however stayed behind to hiss ‘witch’ and ‘traitor’ at father and daughter before she joined her cowering crowd.

Bella was on the floor, her knees hugged close to her chest, whimpering. She looked like a frightened child. Obi Wan took pity on her and called her name.

She looked up. The good man was back again. He had been kind to her last time and along with the other one who promised to free her, he hadn’t looked at her in a condescending way. Seeing his hand extended out to her, she smiled and took it.

Obi Wan smiled back. A sad smile. His eyes were filled with regret. “In another life your mother and I would have been very happy and you and Anakin would have been happy as well. Who knows what the Force truly wants of us. Light and dark, Jedi and Sith, perhaps we are all wrong. Perhaps the Force is neither. One thing I know though, you do not deserve to be treated thus and I wish I had the power to free you from your oppressors but I can’t. All I can give you is my love.” He leaned forward and kiss her forehead then left.

As Bella watched his form disappear, she became sad but one word escaped her lips and the jewel in her choker began to shine, and images of Mary as a child then a teenager and young adult came flashing back to her. “Good.”

* * *

“Ned is holding up. The med-droids say that he will wake up in a day or two.” Jane Kyra told the former lord of the sith. Anakin nodded, not really caring about the youth’s condition. He had known he would survive the minute they flew away from the star destroyer. The boy was a fighter like his namesake and his father, even if lady Sansa and her mother were too blind to see it.

Besides, like Jon, no matter how dangerous a mission was, he always came back.

“Care to tell us what else happened?” Anakin turned to his son. He was his carbon image but there were some differences. He had the naivety and passion his mother had, and to his chagrin, her stubbornness.

“No. Everything you read is what I saw.” Anakin said with a tone of finality.

“We did read the report.” Luke said. “And we were not convince, we doubt everyone in the base is. What really happened there?”

“Like I said Luke, everything I saw is in the report I gave to your sister.” Anakin said, shifting his glance to two miniatures in his hands. Mary and Padme. I failed them both. Jane sat next to their father, putting a hand on his shoulder, sending waves of comfort but they weren’t enough to calm him down. There was an inner struggle inside the man and every time he told himself that he was going to get her back, there was another voice telling him, he wasn’t and he ended up succumbing to doubt and fear and when that happened he realized that Master Yoda and the others, including Master Windu had been right. There was still a lot of fear in him.  
“Fear is a path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”

He smirked. “I idolized your mother Luke because I thought she was everything that I wasn’t. She was the person I wanted to be.” He said. “Mary on the other hand, aside from understanding my pain, was the first person who wasn’t afraid to challenge me without being a hypocrite like your precious Obi Wan. For years I hated her, the mere sight of her disgusted me. I would not resort to name calling, that was beneath me, but she wasn’t afraid to remind me of what I was. A slave, the Emperor’s lackey. She’d mock me on our holo-conversations, flaunting her affair with Arthur. When we found out about you two, we plotted until we realized that it had come to nothing. And she started to regret many things, hating Padme wasn’t among them, nor the people she killed, but she faced many sleepless nights pondering over you two. When we escaped, finding out about your sisters was the greatest blow. I wished Mary could have told me there were others, but I can understand why she did what she did.”

Putting the miniatures back in his black jacket pocket, he looked from Jane to her half-brother, Luke who walked to him, standing close to her, like her protector knight.

“I have no regrets. There is nothing in my life I will ever cry over or beg forgiveness but Mary on the other hand, always cared about what people thought of her. To her, reputation was everything and finding out that she was what her mother’s enemies in her native country said she was, true, scared her and pushed her to prove herself.”

“By committing terrible things as the former lord of the Sith?” Luke asked.

Anakin smirked. “I guess I deserve that. But tell me Luke, what does your rebellion do with your prisoners? And give me another example that is not your current paramour, Carina Sanders.” Anakin quickly added, seeing his son’s mouth open.

Luke closed his mouth. He was about to speak, pointing out about their sisters’ adoptive planet when Jane Kyra beat him to it. “The rebellion has its reasons. I don’t agree and I have disagreed with them publicly many times but two wrongs don’t make a right and the Empire is responsible for twice the atrocities. The rebels didn’t start this war but they intend to finish it and so long as they have me and Luke, we will fight the Empire to our last breaths so our friends can see the dawn of a new era with a new republic, free of corruption and deceit”

“Spoken like a true idealist. I can see why you and Luke are the face of the rebellion for the lower classes. You are perfect. ‘Free of corruption and deceit’.” The former lord Vader told his daughter, repeating her words. “The galaxy is not like that. It is cold and harsh and I have seen enough of it to know that nothing will ever change. Even if you manage to establish a new republic, Imperial remnants will not go away so easily.”

“Once people see the progress that it is been made, they will.” Luke said, adding to his sister’s passionate speech, echoing her sentiments.

“It won’t but you are free to keep deluding yourself if that makes you sleep well at night.” Anakin said seriously, his eyes as empty as when he told them the truth about their parentage. “I thought that I could save your mother. I gave into my basic instincts of jealousy and pride and I failed. I thought I could save your mother too Jane, and I failed as well. They are both gone. There is nothing I can do to remedy that.”

“You can help us fight. You were the hero without fear, the chosen one. You cannot give up that easily.” Luke said, unwilling to believe that his father, the man he had idolized and grown up wishing to be like, could have this self-defeat attitude.

“Things that want to happen, happen and then there are the things that can’t be change. I chose to defy fate and ended up paying a high price. I defied it again and paid an even greater price. I am not going to make the same mistake again.”

“You can’t give up. The Empire might have erased most records of the Jedi and tried to keep your legend a secret but people who lived in the old republic passed down their knowledge to their children and those children are now grown up. They yearn for adventure and freedom. They idolize you and Obi Wan. We are the poster children of this rebellion, but you are its driving force. Without the hero without fear, the old Republic would not have had as many victories against the Separatists, and without your alter-ego, the rebellion would not have fought as hard as they did against the Empire. There is so much you can do to help.”

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t help you. I will but not for the reasons you want.” Anakin said.

Luke wished that their father didn’t speak in such a manner. It was the way of the Sith -Master Yoda had taught him and Jane Kyra- to deceive, to give into their hatred. “A Jedi must let go of all attachments.”  
But whereas his father had been blinded by his passions, Luke and Jane were stronger for them. So as much as he hated his father’s reasons for helping them, he had to turn a blind eye to them. Otherwise the rebellion would be lost. And what good were they if they didn’t use what they had to defeat the greatest evil. Looking back, future generations might frown and condemn their actions but in the end they’d celebrate them and see that they were necessary to defeat the greatest evil.

* * *

The Emperor viewed the surveillance videos of Grand Moff Targaryen and Lord Tudor’s Star Destroyer. The threat of the lady Mary had been neutralized. Through the Force, Sidious could feel his old friend and former apprentice’s despair. _Vader has seen her and he’s realized that she cannot be helped_. The foolish Jedi Master got himself killed. For what? _For love_.

 _What a fool indeed_. Sidious cackled.

 Master Kenobi had been arrogant. He always thought they were superior to the Sith because they didn’t give into their passions. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate and hate leads to suffering. But it had been anger that made Obi Wan cut his late apprentice in half and it had been hate that saved the latter and got his lover, Duchess Satine killed right in front of the master Jedi.

The difference between the Sith and the Jedi was that the Sith did not delude themselves with notions of morality. Every being in the galaxy was an animal, conscious, superior to lower forms of life in their native planets but animals nonetheless and instead of succumbing to their basic instincts, they put them to good use against their enemies.

If Master Kenobi had been wise and accepted his parents’ offer, he would not have gotten himself killed. And much less over a woman.

Sidious’ smile faded when he saw the woman look up at the cameras. She cocked her head to the side then looked down again, touched her choker, at the spot where her jewel was then looked up again and gave a timid smile.

Sidious was taken aback. It was almost as if that red-haired bitch knew that she was being watched. Sidious cackled again. This would prove very interesting. Perhaps Kenobi’s bastard could still be of use to him.

Vader’s love for her would never go away, and if Arthur Tudor was successful in turning his former wife against her, Vader would come out of the shadows and the sun twins, being the caring idiots that they were, would follow him. His troops would capture them and bring them to him and Sidious would pit one against the other, turning them against their father and the lady Mary.

He had already seen how the former queen and princess dowager was succumbing to her darkest desires every time she was assisted by ‘Bella’. The sight of what her daughter had become disgusted her and every time Arthur came, intercourse felt less forces. She felt betrayed, abandoned. The man she loved had been killed and instead of rescuing her, the only thing he could offer her as a ghost were the same empty promises as when he had been alive. A few minutes before she sent the young woman away to run some errands, she had been close to hitting her.

_My good lady, you will continue to work miracles for the Empire. It is a pity that nobody will be left to remember your noble deeds._

Sensing the darkness radiating from the Emperor, Bella turned away from the monitor and hurried back to Lord Tudor’s chambers.

* * *

Two weeks, Yavin time, after their disastrous attempt to rescue Catherine and Mary, Anakin received a surprise visit by the former lord Commander of the Night’s Watch.

He caught his friend by surprise while he was training deep in the jungles, far from the Rebel base.

“You shouldn’t have come here Jon.”

“I came to see how my old friend was doing.”

“Since when did you care about my welfare?” Anakin asked, picking his lightsaber and putting it back underneath his poncho. He hated Yavin. It was green but it rained often and the humidity made it worse. Tatooine was hot, but it a dry heat which he had grown to tolerate; humidity brought forth insects and other wretched organisms and made it hotter.

“I have always cared about your welfare. I know what you did to save my son. I am deeply grateful, so is Sansa.”

“You were never a good liar Jon. That is why the Emperor always sent your wife or your mother-in-law or that witch of yours to the Imperial Courts to deal with his rivals in the senate. Why are you really here?”

Jon sighed. He rubbed his forehead. _Some things don’t change_. Anakin was still as stubborn as always, but he’d grown colder which made it more difficult for him to read. A younger Anakin had been impulsive, cheerful, this Anakin was cold, serious and his eyes showed nothing but deep hatred.

 “I want to warn you as your friend.”

Anakin gave out a cold chuckle at that. “Friend? You do not have to reward for anything. I saved your son at my old master’s request. I wish I hadn’t.”

“Yet you did and regardless of what you claim, you are my friend.” Jon said. “Anakin, you and I have been through terrible things that no man should ever have been privy to, yet we are survivors. We do what we do because we have no choice. I saw in the holo-vids your treason. And I do not mean your chats with my son or your late master but with Piett. The only reason I didn’t hand them in to the Emperor and erased them is because of our friendship and because I want to save you from yourself.”

“If you mean my former lover, you do not have to worry about me. I know she is gone.”

“And yet you are still here in the middle of the jungle training. That can only mean one thing.” Jon stated. “Do not do it Anakin. What life can you have with her? Just look at her. She is pathetic.”

“She is … not pathetic!” Anakin said, almost letting his rage taking him. “She is not.” He repeated in a calmer tone. “And what I do with my time is none of your business.”

“It is when I see my friend is about to throw his life away and everything he worked for, for nothing.”

“You do not understand.”

“I do more than you will ever know.” Jon said, thinking of the woman he loved and made love to before she was killed right in front of him. She had accused him of not knowing anything, but he knew enough to know that his decisions drove her to her death. “Mary is gone. You’d do your offspring, the Empire even, a great favor if you forgot about her. If you truly care about her then end her torment.”

“I cannot do that Jon. I cannot kill her.”

“Think of it as mercy-killing. As long as she is alive she is a liability. The sight of her is turning her mother insane, it is turning you insane. End it now or there will be serious consequences. Arthur is not like other Moffs, he is as twisted as the Emperor. They will use her to get to you and once they have you back, they will get your son and daughter.”

“They are never going to get Luke and Jane Kyra. They are not like me.” Thank the Force, he found himself thinking. “I do not care what the Emperor or Arthur does to me. I’ve made mistakes, I do not regret the things I did, the people I killed. I would have gladly done everything again if it meant protecting the ones I love, but if I could take some of the things I did and said about Mary, I could.”

“Except she is not your Mary anymore. I am sorry for what’s happened to you, to the entire bloody galaxy but there is no other way this will end without bloodshed. You have to kill her, or else the Emperor and Arthur will win.”

Jon’s words stayed with Anakin the entire night after he bid his friend good bye and he returned to the base to an empty bed. Could he kill the woman he loved to save the galaxy? You already killed one, what is another one on your list? But he told his conscience he couldn’t, just as he had told Jon. He had been young when he had given in to his fears about his nightmares. He was older, wiser. There had to be another (less drastic) way to save Mary. He took the miniature from under his pillow and looked at it again. The two women who’d loved him were there. Padme was serious while Mary was next to him smiling.

 _She always believed that we were going to be happy. She knew what I was, what I was capable of, and she still believed in me_.

No. He was not going to give into his fears again. Regardless of what happened, he was going to find a way to save her and his offspring from the darkness. Mary had been right about him. He had been a slave his entire life. First to Gardulla then to Watto, then to the Jedi and finally to the Emperor. He was done serving people.

He was going to do what he promised Mary the first time he rescued her. He was going to challenge fate and rescue her. And if he had to break every rule in his son and daughter's precious rule book then so be it. 


	41. We belong dead

_"It_ 's been like this from the start  
 _one piece after another  ..._  
 _you mistake the game for being smart_  
 _stand here, sell this_  
 _and hit your mark_  
 _But the steel and the crush_  
 _and the grind it will scream_  
 _to remind who am I to decide my life ..._  
 _I will scream but I am just this hollow shell ..."_  
 **~Robot by Miley Cyrus**

“How is our young Targaryen doing?” Anne asked her. Elizabeth turned to meet her mother. The older woman and former queen sat next to her daughter. “I haven’t come here to fight.” She said, seeing the distrust in her daughter’s eyes. “I heard what he did from your friends, including the sun twins and I am impressed.”

“Really? After you railed at Owen for letting him borrow his card key to the Imperial vessel the Bothans captured?”

“Many Bothans had given their lives to capture that Imperia cruiser. The rebel leaders and I had a right to be angry.” Anne said. “You have a good heart and so does your boyfriend.”

“He is not my boyfriend.” Bess said in an annoyed tone.

Anne smiled warmly. “You remind me of myself at times. I used to care about … people. I fell in love with your father when I thought that I was past that.”

“You told me the story many times, lady mother. Wolsey didn’t let you marry Northumberland’s son so you set your eyes on my father to get revenge on him.”

“It wasn’t like that at all. I did love Henry Percy but I was young and I thought that love would be enough but after Wolsey broke us up, my parents came home to scold me and told me ‘love does not enter the equation. Marriage is about partnership, and benefitting your family.’ After your father grew tired of your aunt, they put me in his path hoping that he’d notice me and to my family’s good fortune he did. He started sending me expensive gifts and I sent them back with a note, telling him that I could not accept any unless they were for my husband. Naturally, he turned to other women but the thought of one woman rejecting him irked him so he proposed to me and the rest as you know is history.”

Bess was silent for a while then spoke. “So … you didn’t love my father?” She asked. It wouldn’t trouble her if her lady mother said no. She just wanted to make sure.

“Not at first. I thought his writing was poor and made fun of it with my brother but as I got closer to him, I saw a side of him that people rarely saw, that even Catherine wasn’t privy to. So yes, I did fall in love with him and that is why I didn’t want you to get involved with lord Targaryen and lady Stark’s son. Love is not a thing that can just be conjured out of thin air like poets often write, or you hear from songs. It takes time and you can love a person and one day realize you don’t love them anymore. That is what happened between your father and me, same as with him and Catherine.”

Anne reached for her daughter’s hand. “If you care about this boy I am not going to stand in the way but I do ask you to be careful.” _Remember who his parents are._ -Were her exact words.

Elizabeth took her hand away from her mother. “I know that you care about me and I appreciate everything that you’ve done for me but I have taken care of myself while you were gone.” Bess said.

Anne nodded, feeling slightly hurt at her daughter’s words.

“I am not saying this to make you feel bad. I know you care about me. I love you, I always will. When lady Bryan told me that I was no longer a Princess, I asked where you were and it wasn’t until Mary and Anakin came and explained to me in simple terms I could understand at the time, what had happened, that I prayed that God would bring you back to me. When I was serving Mary and she told me about her true parentage, what she had done and your role in the rebellion, I decided to escape. If it weren’t for your courage, I wouldn’t be here.”

“My dear child.” Anne said. Both women rose and embraced each other. “Every day when I was a captive of Sidious I wished to see you. I prayed for you daily as well. I am so proud of what you’ve become Bess. So proud.”

“And I am proud to be your daughter. All I ask you lady mother is that you trust me.”

“I do but you must understand why I can never trust your boyfriend.”

Bess rolled her eyes. “He is not-“

“My dear Bess, you don’t have to deny it. I see the way you two look at one another. You love each other and I won’t stop you from following your heart but please, be careful.” Anne said, then drove one of her hand to her daughter’s pale cheeks. “Promise me you will be careful.” She begged again.

“I promise.” Bess said.

~o~

After Anne parted from her daughter she went to the base’s bar. She wasn’t surprised to find it deserted except for Skywalker. He didn’t talk much. He just stared at the bottom of his cup then asked for another blue milk.

 _Still as unrefined as ever._ Anne sat next to him. “Owen told his sister Jane Kyra that he spotted you talking to lord Targaryen.” She said. Anakin didn’t respond to that. “I am not here to judge you. You might be the worst person in this base but I don’t fault you for doing what you did. It was brave of you.”

“The rebellion lost one general and my children lost one valuable mentor and the Empire nearly lost its best lieutenant. What is so brave about that?”

“You couldn’t have stood by while they did that to Mary and Catherine. Neither could Obi Wan. Say what you will about your former mentor, but he was a man of his word. He was an honorable man who would have given his life for those in need.”

Anakin smirked at that.

“Obi Wan Kenobi. Master and General, the Great Negotiator. Paragon of virtue and chastity. What a joke.” Anakin said, his voice cold and his eyes devoid of any emotion when he briefly turned to Anne.

“How did we come to this? You and me sitting in a bar discussing about virtue and morality?” Anne asked, thinking it was all some cruel joke from the powers that be.

“We just did”

Anne ordered the droid to serve her a cup of his best wine. “Catherine became a good ally during the time the rebel started recruiting. We met many good people along the way, many lost souls who needed guidance. I taught them what they needed to know about the Imperial court from my short experience working for the Emperor and when I was Henry’s queen in England; but nothing could prepare them for the Inquisitors. Nobody was more hurt to see what had happened to her family than Catherine. She loved that child more than she loved God.”

“I am sure she did.” Anakin said, leaving out that Catherine no longer thought of her ‘sweet’, ‘beautiful’ Mary as her daughter anymore because knowing Anne Boleyn, she would have already heard the intel from the rebel spies before Jon’s surprise visit.

“If I found out that some monster did that to my daughter, I would not rest until he was brought to justice. But I would still see Bess the same way I’ve always seen her.”

“That is easy for you to say. You don’t have some monster chasing after you, reprogramming your daughter, and taking your grandchild away.” He pointed out. “If you did, you wouldn’t act so different than Catherine. You two are practically the same.”

Anne asked the droid to refill her cup with more wine.

Anakin tried one small bottle but it soon became unbearable. Liquor was never his stronghold. He thought it was a useless necessity of the royals and the other high-born to make themselves look good. In his view, it made them look -and act- stupider. He asked for a water instead. “Why did you hate me so much?” He asked.

The question took Anne by surprise. She had seen it coming. She was more shocked that it had taken him this long to ask it.

“I can understand Catherine. I took her precious baby away. She had ambitions for her daughter. She wanted to turn her into the next Isabella; but you? You hated both of them.”

“If you must know Skywalker, I didn’t hate them but you are right about the first part. I did hate you. And note I said ‘did’ as in past tense.”

Anakin moved his head to one side, signaling her to elaborate.

“God gave you many gifts and what did you with them? You squandered them away. You begged the Jedi to take you in because it was what you always dreamed of, and like a lost puppy you fell in love with the first pretty face you saw, then when you began to grow bored of her, you fell in love with another pretty face, only this time it wasn’t someone you could manipulate or enchant with your boyish spirits. She was a woman who had known hardship, who stuck to her beliefs just as you stuck to your self-righteousness. And it took you less than two seconds to realize that she was different. That you loved her but you were already married so what did you do? You lied to her and told her what she wanted to hear. She was honest with you. She was innocent, good. Stubborn and pig-headed, but good. But you, you just couldn’t resist yourself.”

Anne gave a quick sip then continued. “Henry loved her so much. People said ‘it is her fault.’ They shouted in the streets whenever Henry and I were spotted, ‘it is her fault. Burn her’. I became so afraid of her popularity that I uttered the words ‘she is my death and I am hers’ until I was in the tower and I started laughing at the irony of it. My aunts and the constable thought I was mad, but what they didn’t know is that when I had appealed to the King, with Bess in my arms to spare me, I saw you and her kissing.” Her mouth twisted in disgust. “Same eyes, same expression, different person. It didn’t matter to me. She had fallen in love with you and was ready to believe your every lie. My daughter worshiped you and whispered in my ear ‘mommy, didn’t you know? Mary is going to marry the chosen one and they will be very happy.’ Happy! I wanted to grab your-so-called wife and slap her. How could she be so stupid as to believe your lies? Catherine had warned her of you, everyone had and she didn’t listen. She wanted to follow her heart, like some blind beast that can’t control herself. I truly pitied her in that moment.”

She put her cup down. “I don’t know if she ever told you this, but on my last letter to her I warned her not to fall for sweet words. Love is like poison. Sweet and delicious at first but then it hurts and the pain only gets worse as time goes on.”

“All this time your hatred of me wasn’t because you thought I was a nobody but rather, because I reminded you of your husband. How insightful.” Anakin said with an amused tone.

Anne glared at him. “You have no idea what you do to us. We are supposed to be petted and act as if we owe you everything, while you go from bitch to bitch. Henry loved you because you reminded him of him in his younger days. He was just like you.”

“I am nothing like Mary’s supposed father.”

“No?” Anne asked, laughing at that. “You fell in love with a warrior queen who reminded you of an angel. You became part of a monkish order -just for her and then broke your vows -against just for her and when you grew tired of her, you went for the next big thing, an innocent Force-sensitive girl who was exotic, alluring, new to you.” Anne said, using the same words Catherine had used to describe her when she taunted that Henry would lose interest after he found someone else. “When I was brought back to life and found about everything, it didn’t take me long to realize you had been at the center of everything.”

“If you hate me so much, why are you sitting here talking to me, lady Anne? You are an elder and well respected member of the rebel alliance. You could simply go with your fellow queen, Jane Seymour to Mon Monthma or my diplomat daughters and convince them to execute me here and now.”

Anne didn’t give him an answer. There a battle going on inside of her which she didn’t know which side would win, and in that mental conflict, there was always that memory and the feelings it brought, when Skywalker told her stepdaughter he’d love her until the end of time.

Anakin however, did provide her with one. In two sentences he told her why: “You do not want me killed because you are afraid that if I die, the next person they will kill will be her. She will be dragged through the mud, made to admit her sins and just like you, forced down into her knees asking everyone to pray for her and her killers.”

“You read my mind.”

“I did not have to read your mind to know the truth. You are not a hard woman to read lady Anne. And I appreciate your concerns for Mary. But know this: you do not need to trouble yourself any longer. I will keep her safe.”

“I find that hard to believe. How are you going to get her and Catherine out?”

“I have my ways.” Anakin said, rising to leave.

“Bess still thinks highly of you, you know.” Anne said as Anakin walked away.

Anakin stopped. He had not forgotten about the Tudor Princess. He and Bess, Lizzie then, had played endless times when Mary was still asleep in her rooms. Sometimes they’d played hide and seek, at other times he’d show her holograms of the many planets and the systems they were located. She was always a curious child and Anakin enjoyed her company.

“That is good to know.” He said, then kept walking.

* * *

Ned woke up. Bess was there smiling down at him. “Hey. Mary Stuart said you tried to leave the room yesterday. The med droids say you can’t until your scars have healed.”

“They’ve been saying that for four weeks now. I am fine Bess, really. Besides,” he added quickly before Bess offered another protest. “I need to get out of this room and see what Vader, Owen, and my sister are planning.”

“No, you need to rest. I am sure whatever it is they can handle it. You’ve done enough to help the rebellion.” She said, placing a hand gently on his bandaged chest and laying him down again.

“Not enough yet. My sister and Owen still worry about me. I can’t sense them the way Owen can sense others, or the Skywalkers can but I know my friend and he is not hard to decipher. He probably still thinks I am angry at him.”

“Why would he think that?”

Ned told her what he’d told Owen and Lya.

Bess was horrified.   
“Ned, Owen cares about you. The first thing he wanted to do after he woke up was escape so he could find his way back to your sister.”

“I know but I was angry Bess. I didn’t love my betrothed, but when she told me I was going to be a father I was excited. My parents don’t like each other and I thought if I could make things work with her then I could prove to them what a good man was. When she died, a part of me died with her.”

“It didn’t.” Bess said. “The old Ned who laughed and was eager to make others happy is still there. There is nothing wrong to feel angry. You had every right to feel angry, but Owen and your sister had nothing to do with that. If you have to be angry at someone, then be at me, at the rebellion.”

Ned gave her a pleasant. One of the first she had seen on him since they met. His eyes no longer looked cold and empty but were kind and gentle. “I could never be angry at you.” He said.

* * *

"I wish I could have been there. I should have been there." Owen rephrased quickly before Lya could say anything. "I still can't believe that my father did that. I always knew that it would not be long before something happened but I never thought it would come to this. If I could have just see her, she would remember everything."

"I know you want to help Owen but you've heard the reports. There is nothing anyone can do. It is best we wait."

"I can't wait. She is like this because of him. I can't convince my father, but if my lady grandmother sees me, she can come to her senses and I can rescue them."

Lya rolled her eyes. "And then what? Be a hero. The rebels will never trust us. They see us as the enemy and we are. We will never be one of them. Suppose you rescue your mother, they will imprison her and parade her before the streets as if she was some common criminal because that is what these people do to their enemies."

"But we are no longer Imperials."

"It doesn't make any difference. We are not rebels either. Lord Vader said he could take care of this himself, we must trust him."

"It is the first time I have ever heard you say the words trust and Vader in the same sentence."

"Do not try to deflect the conversation."

"I am not."

"Lord Vader was the most feared man in the galaxy for a reason and there are many officials who still respect him in spite of his defection." She said. "If it wasn't for that, he would be Emperor by now. There are many who think he still can if he rejoins. Now with your mother it is impossible, but that can work to his advantage." Lya said, feeling guilty for not telling him the real reason why she didn't want him there.

Her brother had nearly died risking his life for his mother and grandmother. When Vader arrived without Obi Wan Kenobi, and Catherine and Mary, with her brother in her arms, Lya almost lost consciousness. She, Bess and Owen were in his med-room daily. She prayed to the gods, the old and the new to bring her brother back. 

She didn't want to go through the same ordeal with her husband. The thought of losing Owen was unbearable.

"If he needs help, he will ask us. Who else but us to go through the best well defended fortresses in the Empire? These rebels can barely keep up with me in the training room."

Owen laughed. "You are too rough with them sweetheart."

"Most of them have never faced and Imperial officer in their lives. Adventure, fame, they think that is what fighting is all about. Bunch of self-righteous cunts as your mother would say."

"Well ... she'd use subtler language but essentially the same point, yes."

She kissed him. "He will get your mother back and after they do, they can live their life and you and I will have the rest of our lives to kick these ninnies' asses."

Owen laughed again. "Perhaps we can open our own training center. The white Force dragon."

"White Force dragon? Sounds something from a terrible tale." She said. "As long as I get to teach these ninnies a lessons, I am up for it."

* * *

 

Bella smiled widely as the baby copied her head movements. “Ah.”

“Yes. Ah. When my mouth opens I say ah.”  Bella said, smiling again. She clapped her hands against the baby. Softly so she wouldn’t hurt him. He was a beautiful baby. Chubby cheeks, healthy looking. Master was always proud of him, and mistress adored him.

It was strange. He did not look like mistress at all. But he had to because she was his mother. Bella wished she could understand these things. They were too complicated for her. But she did know some things and sometimes she remembered _things._

“Bella.”

Bella stopped clapping her hands against him. “What? Baby said what?”

Little Ben laughed and clapped his hands, seeing as his caretaker wasn’t playing with him anymore and said “Bella.” Then closed his mouth, still smiling looking down at his feet with curiosity. “Bella” he said for a third time. It became like a chant as soon as Catherine entered the room. “Bella. Bella. Bella.”

Bella giggled and looked up at her mistress. “Ben knows my name! Bella!”

Catherine nodded _. Strange._ _The nights with Arthur are becoming almost bearable._ And the sight of her daughter, less tolerable. Perhaps he was right. Perhaps this was her destiny. Her mother had prepared her for queenship from the day she was born. “ _You are going to be queen someday my child. You must not cry, you must no lament your fate. Be thankful to be who you are for many would sell their souls to the devil just to be you.”_ Arthur did not need to force himself on her anymore. The first nights were hard but her nightmares had made it easier. Remembering what Obi Wan had said, how she would still be here long after the struggle was over, made her lose all hope.   
_Obi Wan never loved me. He loved his precious Jedi Order. I, Siri Taichi, Santine, we were just bodies to keep his bed warm._  
She had been a fool to think she could change her destiny. She was a royal. Love, caring were beneath her.

And yet … there was a part of her that she refused to leave behind. Mary. If she could only reach her, she’d make a run for it along with her and the baby, and forget everything that happened and allow her and Anakin to live in peace. She’d never question their relationship anymore.

She called her by her new name, knelt before her making ‘Bella’ kneel as well and touched her cheek.

“Mary … Bella … I know you are in there. If you can just call me mommy. Mama … like you did … I promise you, I will never say one word against Anakin. I will let you two live happily ever after just like in the tales I read to you when you were a child and I will defend you against everyone who calls you traitor. Just call me mommy. Please … call me mama.” Tears streamed down her cheeks as she pleaded to her lost daughter.

Bella opened her mouth but then closed it.

It was no use. Catherine withdrew her hand. _My daughter is truly dead._ She rose and let Bella to her own devices. She turned again. There was no trace of Mary. Same face, same eyes, but Bella was an entirely different person.

It had been the final nail in her coffin. Burying her heart completely, she divorced all thought of Mary and Bella, and saw Bella for who she was: a naïve, useless girl. The mere sight of her disgusted her. She tore her eyes away from her. Unaware that the doors of the chambers had opened, she was surprised to see lady Sansa.

“Funny isn’t it? My family had a mentally handicapped who called himself ‘Hodor’. Lord Tudor didn’t know what to call her after she woke up, so he went by the first word that popped out of her lips: ‘Bella’. At least she is not as bad as him, she still retains some of her memories, though it is a pity that the only good thing she will ever be useful for is serving others and being a Christian ninny.” Lady Sansa said with a laugh as Bella looked away when she saw Sansa over her spot where she was playing with her son.

Catherine slapped her. The force of the slap brought her to the floor. “Get out of here you Northern harlot. You and your mother fooled everyone but not me, I have confronted your lot before. You are the true ninny here. Relying on nothing else but your beauty to win over others. You are pathetic. If I ever see your face in these rooms again without asking my permission first, I will hit you harder and the same goes to your mother! Get out!”

Sansa could not believe the gall of the former Queen to hit her. But seeing as the woman was capable of so much more, she left. When she told her lady mother, Jon and his witch, Jon laughed.

“You thought you could just waltz in Arthur’s apartment and insult his wife’s daughter and not face any consequences? Are you really so deluded in your self-importance that you forgot how to think?”

“How dare you speak to my daughter in that way. Were it not for her, you would have never had peace in Westeros and most of Earth.” Lady Stoneheart told her ungrateful son-in-law.

“Anakin, Sansa, the lady Mary, lord Tudor and I kept the peace on Earth, it wasn’t just your daughter, Madame.”

“Always an ingrate. All that rank didn’t make you smarter. My daughter gave you power, she gave you something you could rely on and what have you done with it? You sired one weak boy and one daughter who opened her legs for the first boy she saw.”

“Watch your mouth my lady.”

“Or what? You will command your priestess to burn me? Do not forget boy, I was brought by a red priest to life. I have vision as well, so if she burns me, you will be marked by the red god.”

“I do not give a shit about the red god or you or the Force or anything  that’s divine. If you and your daughter want to plot behind my back, go right ahead but do not forget I hold a higher rank than both of you and if you two are still alive it is because of me.”

Lady Melisandre looked down. Her eyelashes hid the amusement in her eyes, and she pressed both of her lips so tightly together so she could avoid laughing. It was not every day that she got to see the stone-heart bitch and her daughter, the arrogant lady Stark, put in their places.

“Be careful Jon Snow.” Lady Stoneheart said, knowing the name of his former bastard self would anger him. “You have been raised higher than most men, but don’t forget that what goes up must come down and those who rise the highest, suffer the most when they are brought down.” She turned to her daughter. “Let us go back to your chambers Sansa. At least there, we can have more civilized company.”

* * *

Marion looked at her half-sister. She had a big smile on her face. It was the same smile she saw on Han early in the morning. Marion was happy that the two had decided to tie the knot. The Seymours had not been happy. Sir Thomas especially, but then again, when were they ever happy?

Leia’s invitation to her chambers could only mean one thing. She was going to ask her friend to be her maid of honor.

Marion would of course accept.

“I take it the night with the scoundrel wasn’t so bad?”

Leia blushed.

“You can tell your best friend everything. We never keep secrets from each other, remember?” Marion said to her. “There is a bet between Doreah and me on who popped the question first.”

“Marion, you know better than to divulge these things.”

“Who says I did? Doreah is very discreet when it comes to you and besides, I have the credits secured in my pocket when Her Highness walks down the aisle because I know you popped the question first.”

Leia looked away, blushing harder.

Marion cocked her head then opened her mouth wide, forming a big ‘o’. “No. He didn’t.”

Leia turned to her.

“Tell me he didn’t.”

“It wasn’t like that. I did ask him first.”

“Good, then I win four hundred credits.” Marion said, savoring victory already.

“But right before I finished, he said yes.”

“Are we talking about the same Han Solo here?” Marion asked.

“It is strange, I know. But he has … changed. Not in that way. He is still a scoundrel, but he is different. The time he spent with Jabba, after he was released from his carbonite prison, has changed him and he is more serious now.”

Marion understood. “I am truly happy for both of you and I accept.”

“You are always one step ahead of everything.” Leia said with a grin.  
“I could say the same thing for you my Princess.” Marion said with a beguiling smile, the same smile that her mother always gave her when she had something in store for her.

“My father and your mother would be proud if they could see us.”

“They would.” Marion agreed.

When the day of the wedding came, their _father_ wasn’t there. Han Solo wondered aloud afterwards at the feast why. Marion said that he had to train. By the look in Han’s face, she could tell he didn’t believe her and turned to Leia but she gave him a look that said _do not start_ so he said nothing more on the matter.

The truth was that she had warned him not to come.

Yet, he had decided to anyway and for that Marion could not fault him. As long as he didn’t show his face, she and Leia would be happy.

Looking from one of the windows in the second floor down at the banquet, he recalled the discussion he and Marion had earlier.

_“It is my daughter’s wedding, your sister.”_

_“I am well aware what she is to me, and what she is not to you.” Marion said with an open smile. Wearing the colors of blue and brown with a tint of green and golden rose in her belt with silver spines, he couldn’t help but think of the Tyrell bitch and her grandmother._  
He had always thought of those women as inconsequential and laughable. They, along with Cersei Lannister, thought they were royalty and demanded to be treated as such, so when they saw Vader treat them as nothing more than potential targets, they got angry. And he used that anger to make himself stronger because he had been a servant of the light all his life. Serving the highborns like them. It felt fitting that they now cowered before him.  
Seeing his daughter act like Margaery, couldn’t help but make him angry. ‘If Obi Wan and Catherine hadn’t hid her from me, I could have saved her from those women.’ 

_“You are my daughter as well and as your father, you forget yourself that you obey me.” Anakin said, adding. “From the book of the Father, chapter twenty-three, ‘and I saw the Mother kneel before the father giving him her daughter and he said, kneel child for you are mine and I am yours and to lead, you have to obey to me.’”_

_ _ _“You read the Seven Pointed Star. Good. But you also forget the part where it says ‘and the Father then saw into his daughter’s eyes and realized that the Maiden was stronger for her defiance and turned her into the crowned Virgin.’ My mother was a Queen beloved by many, she taught me how to face men like you.”_

_“I am not like any men. I am your father!”_

_“You are not my father. You tortured me while I was begging you to stop, laughed when I was crying and told me if you could, you would give me to your soldiers until they grew tired of me and move to Leia.”_

_“I told you before Marion, I did not know you and Leia were mine. If I had, I would have never done the things that I did. I already asked for your forgiveness, I risked my life for your precious rebellion, what more do you want of me?”_

_“Nothing.” Marion said, her lips drawing up a smile again. “If the Rebels didn’t need you, Leia and I would act on our emotions and tell you to drop dead. But we keep you here out of respect for the venerable Obi Wan Kenobi who was a greater man than you will ever be.”_

_“That great man fathered a child he died fighting for and her mother.”_

_“To err is to be human. Even the monotheists on this base can forgive his transgressions because of the good he has done to help the rebels. He sacrificed his happiness in the service of others. What have you done? You lost your mother. You lost your wife and your children -or so you thought and you tricked a naïve girl into falling in love with you and turned her into a monster. You’ve lived your whole life lamenting for your situation, taking your anger on others, instead of taking a good look at yourself and admitting your blame.” Marion said coldly. The smile made her words have a chilling effect._

_If he could bring Margaery Tyrell from the dead he would and choke her right on the spot for teaching his daughter to act in such a way. ‘What right did that woman have to raise her as her own?’_

_“You were not the only person who suffered. Countless others were born into slavery and were freed and didn’t turn into mad men who are responsible for the death of billions of innocent souls. Everything that you did, you did because you wanted. Not because of love, or protecting others. It was because of you. I am truly sorry for what happened to you, but that is not an excuse for genocide.”_

_“You do not know the horrors I lived Marion. I had to watch my mother die in front of my eyes. Tortured, starved, possibly raped. How dare you speak to me like you were some caged virgin? Margaery Tyrell might have taught you how to be cynical but she didn’t teach you any empathy -which you obviously need!”_

_“My mother did teach me empathy. She took me to the streets to see the less fortunate. She taught me just because they have nothing, doesn’t mean they are beneath me. She instilled in me a spirit of endurance that you and the lady Mary could have never taught me or my siblings. She was there when I was sick, when I was scared. She raised me.”_

_“She wasn’t your mother. Mary is.”_

_“Mary Tudor will never be my mother.”_

_“She is your mother! Whether you want to admit it or not. She gave birth to you. She carried you and your sister and giving you up was the hardest thing she ever had to do. If you had one ounce of empathy as you say you do, you would understand why she and I turned the way we did.”_

_“Is that what you truly came here for? To convince me to open my heart to you and Mary?”_

_“No, I want you and Leia to let me attend the wedding.”_

_Marino chuckled. A cold laugh. Realization dawned on her fair face. “The truth finally comes out. You went to her first and she said no. That is why you are here now.”_

_“You and your sister are being stubborn. I did not know you were my daughters. I needed to learn where the rebel base was. Everything was at stake, the rogue one crew had stolen the death star plans, causing the death of many of my soldiers. Everything was at stake.”_

_“It was at stake for us too. I prayed to the Seven. I never believed in them, but in that moment after I threw up in the floor and you laughed at me, I mentally prayed that the Seven would protect me and Leia and our families. When you and Grand Moff Tarkin forced us to watch the destruction of our planet, I felt my mother’s death. Her cries, her anguish as she realized everything was going to go down in flames. I closed my eyes thinking ‘maybe it is all a bad dream’ and when I opened them and realized it wasn’t, I swore that I would fight with my dying breath to see you and every remnant of the Empire suffer as Leia and I suffered.”_

_“Revenge is not the Jedi way … daughter.” Anakin said, knowing that the last word would rankle her._

_“I am no Jedi and neither is Leia.” Marion said then added, giving a mock bow “my lord.”_

Anakin had gone back to Leia. And just as he suspected, Leia was just as bad as when he first visited and much worse after he visited Marion.

_“You humiliated me in front of your soldiers. I was a nineteen year old girl begging you to stop and you told the Stormtroopers to continue to apply more pressure on my stomach then stuck needles in me and watched with glee as I writhed on the floor.” Leia said, hatred blazing from her eyes. Her half-sister and best friend Marion had always been the more diplomatic of the two, while Leia was not afraid to unleash hell on her opponents, knocking them out in the first round, pointing out their flaws. Today was no different._

_“Are you finished?” Anakin said, mirroring her gaze._

_ _ _“No, I am just getting started. You, Lord Vader deserve to be dragged through the mud for what you did. Not just to me but to Marion and to Luke and Jane Kyra. You are a disgusting fiend, a monster and I bet Marion already told you using politer terms.”_

_“She was very vocal. In that, you two are very alike.”_

_“That is because we had parents who raised us. Men and women who guarded us against men like you. I do not fault my sister for hating your lover either. It was one thing for me to discover you were my father, it was another for her to discover that the woman who mocked us was also her mother. You have no righto ask me to walk me down the aisle.”_

_“I am your father Leia. I want to be present in my daughter’s wedding since I wasn’t for Marion’s. Is that too much to ask of you, Your Highness?”_

_“It is. Han was in carbonite freezing because of you! His father nearly lost all hope because of you! His aunt hates me because I am your daughter!”_

_“That is not my fault. If my mere presence disturbs you, why am I here still? I don’t seem to disturb you now. Why can’t you grant me this simple request?”_

_“Because it is not so simple. Han and I have been through a lot, I want my family, the people I love there with me. Not you.” Sensing Han was about to come, she asked him to leave. Not wishing to face the two of them, he left._

__Anakin smirked. In many ways, Leia was a lot like him. She had a hellish temper that made it impossible for anyone to argue against her. And despite not being there below, he found himself smiling as he watched Han and Leia dance.

Another figure smiled as he watched the couple dance. “It’s a shame that we could never assist our offspring’s wedding.”

“I would have invited you if you weren’t so vicarly.” Anakin said.

“If you had married Catherine, do you think you would have been happy?” Anakin asked, not really caring but he was curious to see what Obi Wan’s answer would be.

“No. As much as I love Catherine, she and I were married to our responsibilities. Do you see me married to a Princess anyway?”

“I can hardly imagine you married to anyone. That is the difference between you and me, Obi Wan. I didn’t want to follow the Jedi Order’s rules because I saw what their effect on many people, including you.”

“Since when were you so caring about my well-being Anakin?

“At first I thought that Satine and you were meant to be, but when you reproached me about my _attachment_ to Mary, I saw the way you looked at Catherine’s only remaining portrait at Whitehall Palace after she died. When Satine died, you barely had time to mourn but it affected you, Catherine on the other hand, I could tell. You loved her.”

Obi Wan’s eyes wandered to his former students, Luke and Jane Kyra. “What do you suppose will be of them?”

“I am more worried about Owen and Lyanna. The two are still very much in love. They keep dreaming of paradise and think that will end happily of them.”

“You were once like him too.” Obi Wan pointed out. Said couple took on the dance floor. Their friend was sitting on the table next to the former princess, lady Elizabeth. He still looked shaken. There was a bandage on his head, his face bore no expression but his eyes became gentle whenever they turned to Ben.

“We both were.” Anakin said. “Once upon a time.”

“Once upon a time.” Obi Wan agreed. He turned to Anakin again. “I couldn’t save Catherine, save her for me and save Mary too.”

“She is gone Obi Wan. If you have paid attention to the holo-press, or seen he, you would know she died the minute Arthur took her.”

“I have seen her and I have seen the hope that radiates from her eyes. Mary still lives.”

“You have seen what you want to see. Mary is gone and Catherine will soon be consumed by darkness as we were, but I will put an end to their misery if that your concern. Not for you old friend, but for them. Despite what has happened. I do not wish that fate on anyone.” Even Catherine.

That was certainly progress, Obi Wan thought. Anakin hadn’t referred to him as _Jedi_ or _General_ in a condescending way. It was certainly something given what they’ve been through in the past month.

“I have faith in you Anakin.” Obi Wan said as he started to fade away, wishing he could tell his friend more but he felt his daughter’s distress through the Force. “I know you will do the right thing.”

After he was gone he appeared in front of Mary, or Bella now, as he had to remind himself to call her. Bella smiled timidly at him. She pointed to her stomach.

“What happened?” Obi Wan asked.

“I had … baby. Ben.”

“Yes. Ben is your baby.”

“Why … not here … with me? Why bad man and mistress take him?”

Obi Wan thought that was an appropriate way to refer to Arthur.

“Why not let me see him?”

“Who doesn’t let you see him Bella?”

“Mistress call Bella stupid. Says me not fit to raise baby. I want Ben with me. He is my baby.”

Obi Wan closed his eyes, feeling sad that Catherine had used such words with Mary. “It is complicated Bella. Your mistress is just sad. She loves you but she doesn’t know how to express herself when she is around you.” Obi Wan said opening his eyes to face his daughter again.

“Why?” Bella demanded. “Why did she turn mean? I … good at helping. I like to help.”

“I know you do but …” Obi Wan stopped then turned around. He had seen Satine die, witnessed his master’s death, and been at Siri’s funeral, but nothing could prepare him to see his daughter in such a state.

 _“She is a freak.”_ He remembered Catherine saying. His daughter, a lively and precocious child who had grown into a strong woman, cruel and misguided but strong nonetheless, reduced to this.

Bella walked to him and met his eyes again. Why was he acting this way with her? She wondered. Was Mr. Good going to mistreat her now too? That is how people always acted before they lashed out on Bella for some unknown reason.

“You … are … sad.”

“Yes, I am sad. I made a lot of mistakes. I wanted to protect you and your mother and it is my fault that you are like this.”

“You not happy to see me like this?”

“No. There is so much more to you. Your mistress wants the girl who sang, who rebelled, who followed her heart. When she told me you were my child, I panicked. The Jedi are not supposed to have children. It is forbidden and after Siri died, I returned to your mother again and you saw us. Catherine said that it was nothing. You were a child and you would forget but it stayed with you and I thought that is why you fell in love with Anakin, because your subconscious was telling you if you did, you’d be like your mother. But I was wrong. You two loved each other and I failed you both.”

Bella understood now. When he placed both hands on her cheeks, she withdrew them. “You do not love Bella because she is not what you want her to be … You want your own Bella.”

“No that is not it. I want my daughter. Your mistress wants her daughter back too.”

“No ... you do not want Bella. If … you do not want me … you must come again.” Bella said then added when she got under the covers of her bed. “I want to sleep now.”

Obi Wan left, feeling more lost than he’d ever felt.

* * *

 

Three weeks after their wedding, Anakin received a r _aven_ from Jon. The rebels had moved from Yavin to another planet’s moon. There, Jon contacted him. He told him that relations between Arthur and Catherine had gotten worse and by worse, he meant worse for Mary. Catherine had lost all hope in getting her daughter back and treated Bella as she would have a servant or one of her Moor slaves back in the day when she and Arthur were married.

It was as if they were from Anakin’s standpoint as his ship landed on Naboo. The planet conjured a lot of painful memories. Some were not so bad and came with other good memories. The rebels had sent him as a spy thanks to the Naberries and his eldest offspring from Padme and Mary respectively. The former thought that seeing Mary _like this_ would put an end to all hope of getting her back and also make him see that his destiny was with their daughter, honoring her memory by pledging his life to the rebels and the struggles she embodied. The latter, despite their reservations, trusted him enough to gain them the intel they needed while also passing undetected thanks to the skills he’d gained in his time as the Emperor’s right-hand-man.

Nothing though could prepare him for what he saw. As he shielded his presence from any potential Force-sensitive aiding the Emperor, or assisting Arthur Tudor and the lady Catherine, he watched as the two yelled at Mary.

He waited until the two left so he could sneak into the country-house.

Bella was on the floor, curled up in a ball, her hands covering her face crying.

“Bella.” Anakin said, removing her hands gently from her face. Bella sat up. She didn’t smile this time, sensing as he did with her, his grief. “It is alright. I have come to help.”

He knelt down in front of her and pulled her close. “I want to do this right by you and me.” He said then added the words he said long ago. “I want us to spend the rest of our lives together.”

Bella did not say anything. Her tears had dried up.

Obi Wan appeared at that moment. He understood the severity of Anakin’s words and had sensed a great disturbance in the Force, and as he saw his apprentice take his lightsaber he told him: “Anakin, think of what you are doing. Once you do this, you two can never go back.”

“I know. I made a promise to your daughter, I intend to keep it. You did not fail me Obi Wan. You did everything you could, this is my way of making things right. Mary, we are going to be together again.” And with that, he kept their embrace with one of his arm while his other still held his lightsaber.

“Anakin, no.” Obi Wan whispered, in a begging tone.

Anakin’s thumb moved closer to the lightsaber button. He gave one sad smile to Bella nearing her face, kissing her lips when all of a sudden as their lips parted and he was ready to push that button, she said: “You never loved me Anakin …”

Anakin dropped his lightsaber. He looked down at Bella. Or was it Mary? He wasn't sure but the gravity in her voice, there could be no mistake there, echoed Mary's. 

"You like Mr. Good and mistress. You just love what you want Bella to be. You cannot accept Bella so you can't love her."

"That is not true. I love you Mary." 

But Bella shook her head. "You do not love me Anakin. You just want what was never there, just like when you thought you loved Padme ... Bella is not Mary ... so you want to end me."

"No, I want us to be together. This way, no one can hurt us."

"I ... do not want to die ... but if that will make you happy then go ahead ... end Bella."

She turned around and took his lightsaber and thrust it in her hand. 

"But I will never be free ... not until you accept me ..." She looked down and he saw a tear escape her right eye.

Anakin's hand was shaking. He briefly turned to his former master. He was as stunned as Anakin. He had known the power of the jewel but he never thought its powers extended this far.

Obi Wan knelt next to them. "You remember Mary ... Bella?"

She nodded. "Flashes come to me. I see, I recall ... I choose what to hold on ... if this is what you want ... end Bella now Anakin." She said, resigning herself to her fate. She was never going to have her knight in shining armor. They were never going to see her as anything other than Mary, an Inquisitor, a monster, now a nuisance.

"No." Anakin said, dropping his lightsaber for a second time. He wiped her tear with his thumb while bringing her to face him, raising her chin with his other one. Their eyes were locked . "I accept you Bella."

He leaned forward and kissed her for a second time and this time she responded. "Good." She said.

"Good." He repeated and for the first time in over two decades, he shed tears as well.


	42. Something Sinister is among us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As our heroes are hit with visions of things to come, others treasure the little moments of privacy they have.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I recommend listening to the song 'Call Me' by Shinedown. Also, this was partly inspired by EU, although some of that material is non-canon, some of it is still being used for the 'new canon', and stranger things which itself is inspired by 70s and 80s sci-fi and dark fantasy. (If you haven't seen that show. Seriously, watch it. It is good). There are also a lot of Easter eggs, like in previous chapters, relating to the new trilogy (TFA and onwards).

_“I’ve said it so many times_  
I would change my ways so many times  
God knows I have tried …  
Call me a sinner, call me a saint  
tell me it is over, I will still be the same  
call me a favorite, call me the worst  
tell me it is over, I don’t want you to hurt…  
I’ll always keep you inside  
you healed my heart and my life  
when you know I tried!”  
~Call me by Shinedown

_“Why do I get the feeling you are going to be the death of me.”  
**~Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones**_

Although neither of them could see, Obi Wan also shed tears. He did not think it was possible for a dead person to shed tears or still feel pain, but he did.

“We must get you out of here.” Obi Wan said to Bella.

Bella shook her head.

“Bella surely you can’t want this. Arthur and Catherine will continue to treat you thus if you stay.”

“I do not care ... I stay … Ben … for him.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.” She told him. “Mr. Good, you will protect me …”

“I cannot guarantee that.” Obi Wan warned her. “If you go with Anakin now, you can be safe.”

“I … stay here … Protect Ben … He needs me …”

“I need you too.” Anakin said.

She turned to him. Bella gave him a small smile then kissed his cheek. “You always have me … “ she put her hand on his chest then took his hand and put it in the middle of her chest. “I feel, you feel.”

“What I feel, you feel. You remember that too.” Anakin said, recalling the first time she said it with a grin.

“Flashes come in my dreams … I recall and choose what I hold on. Some things are clear … others are less.” Bella repeated, elaborating a little more on what she said earlier.

Anakin realized that not all hope was lost. But what Bella said was also true. If Anakin wanted to fulfill his vows to her, he had to accept her for who she was, and respect her choices. If that meant waiting a lifetime until she made sense of everything, then so be it.

“He is right though. Arthur is not going to treat you any better.”

“I care not. Ben needs me and …” she paused trying to find the best way to articulate what was on her mind and what she saw months ago. “others have protectors with them …”

 _Others?_ Anakin wondered. _She must mean her other offspring, Jane Kyra, Marion and Owen._ She was partially right. Owen had trained under his half-sister, sister-in-law and the former’s half-sibling and his grandfather. They could defend themselves against major threats. Ben was barely a year old. If she left, Bella would never forgive herself if something happened to him.

“That may be, but your Mr. Good here is no longer alive. He can’t protect them as he used to.”

“They have you and … friends. Ben has only me … I stay here.”

Obi Wan and Anakin looked at each other. “She is as stubborn as you.” Anakin told his former master.

“She gets it from spending a lot of time with you than me.”

Anakin doubted that. He returned his attention to Bella. “Is this what you truly want?”

Bella nodded. She moved her hand to his cheek as he had done with her earlier. “I … be fine.”

“I will be watching.” Anakin promised then gave her a look which made her blush.

Obi Wan knew this was his cue to go and vanished.

“I was wondering when he was going to do that. Knowing him he probably wanted to say something to embarrass us both.” Anakin said. Bella laughed silently at that. “It is the first time I noticed how blue your eyes are.”

“I have eyes like sky.” Bella said pointing to her eyes. “You have blue, ocean blue I have sky blue.”

“Yes. Water and air. A perfect combination.” He turned serious. “Bella, is Ben here?”

She nodded. “Mistress let me care for him with … the condition that I do not make him dumb.”

“Why would you make him dumb?” Anakin asked, barely able to mask his anger.

“Because she say I am dumb.”

“You are not dumb.” Anakin said, “I will come back and rescue the two of you and little Ben, I promise.”

“No, stay. I do not want you to leave.” She gripped his hand and brought him closer. “I want you to stay … with me.” Then she kissed him.

Anakin felt her hand reach underneath his shirt.

“No. I can’t.”

“Why? You said you accepted.”

“I accept you, I always will no matter who you are or what you call yourself but Bella … this is not right. It would be like taking advantage of-“

She finished for him. “Dumb person.”

“No. That is not what I said. You are smart and I love you. But you are not ready for this. Trust me. What if you fall pregnant?”

“I … cannot fall pregnant … bad man made sure I never do.”

“What?” Anakin asked, shocked at her revelation.

Bella explained the procedure to him.

“When did this happen?” He demanded.

Bella shrugged. She was not sure. “A month, maybe … four.”

If he ever encountered Arthur, he didn’t care if he broke every rule in the Jedi or Sith rule books, he would make him pay for what he’d done to her.

Bella twined her arms around his neck. “There is no risk with Bella. I … will not bring you danger.” She said locking his lips against his again.

It was hard to resist. He wanted this ever since he had rescued her. To be man and wife in every sense of the word, and consummate their love without having to worry about anything. But she was mentally unstable. Even if she was aware of what she was asking of him, it wouldn’t be right. Yet, he was here against all odds, wasn’t he? And she wanted this as much as he did.  
He neared her lips again. Before he kissed her, he asked her again “Are you sure?”

She gave a slow nod then closed her eyes, waiting for his kiss.

* * *

Han and Leia locked eyes and smiled at one another. None of them wanted their nights to end. They wanted to spend their time locked in each other’s embrace.

There were days where they fought, they yelled. Yet, they always came back to each other. _“You have your moments. Not many but you do have them.”_ Leia always said to which he replied with that same cocky smile that both angered and made her heart jump, _“Just admit, you can’t resist my company.”_

“What will I do when this is over? You will have to grow serious at some point.”

“At some point, I imagine I will but as long as there are battles to fight, they will always have need of the charming smuggler.”

“What makes you think they will make you captain of the new republican forces laser-brain?”

“They need someone with experience and isn’t the new government all about giving positions based on merit instead of family connections.”

“You know better than that.” Leia lightly admonishing, reminding him that the senior officers didn’t look good on him. And his record, even by smuggling standards wasn’t so good. Even the lowest of the lowest would agree that someone like Han would be incapable of handling the big responsibilities that came with being head of a new army of well-trained soldiers who expected their commanding officer to have some sense of decency and class.

“My father is descended from King, how about that?”

“It’s not that Han. It takes more than being descended from lords and kings to be a commanding officer. Right now the rebels need officers, good ones who know every maneuver. But the Republic will expect people who follow orders, who stand by army protocol and you dear scoundrel are anything but an army man.”

“I was in the Imperial Academy for a while. I can handle the stiffs.”

“That won’t be enough. Why don’t you start something new, something simple? Your own shipping company. Everyone will want to do business with the war hero who helped bring down the Empire.”

“Now that is a first. I don’t want to be Lando. Maybe I will go back to trading spice.”

“Han.” Leia sighed. “Be serious. You have to think about the future, our future. What if we have kids? You can’t expect me to help Mon run the government while their father is doing Force knows what, running an illegal business. You have to think carefully about this.”

“I know, I know. Look, when I have a plan I will tell you and I promise you, it won’t be anything shady Your Worshipfulness.”

“Don’t call me that.” She said but he laughed. “I am serious.”

“Lighten up Your Highness, we are still celebrating. Let’s forget about the future and live in the present.” Han said kissing her with full force on her lips. Leia responded bringing herself on top of him. He was in full awe of her. He thought of the day when he asked her twin brother if he and her ever had a chance and he quickly said ‘no’. _Well the joke is on him now_. Han had not only scored big with the most beautiful woman on the base, but he’d also found someone he could love and love him back. And best of all, they had an entire week just to themselves. No Vader, no Sir Thomas Seymour.  
Life was definitely good.

* * *

Jane went back to her school on Tatooine. Seeing the children learn brought her some comfort and pushed evil thoughts of envy away from her mind.

Everyone was getting married, talking of children and with the ones they loved, including her father (she felt it), and she was alone.

And yet, a part of her was happy that she didn’t have no one. After the visions she had, and what her uncle had warned her about, she didn’t want to be close to anyone, especially that person who would bring her so much grief in the future.

* * *

Catherine came home to the villa. She asked for Bella. She found the droids de-programmed. She re-programmed them again and asked the protocol one where she was and if Ben was ok.

The protocol droid gave a nod, or what appeared to be a nod and answered her first question saying that she was tired and bad gone to her bedroom to play with her dolls.

Catherine knocked on Bella’s door. No answer. She knocked harder. No answer again. She pushed a button and the metallic door opened. Bella was there under the covers. She wore a simple nightgown. She was breathing soundly, a smile on her face.

“Get up.” She shook her violently. Bella woke up.

“Mistress. You are back.” Bella said groggily, not bothered by the pain her shoulder where her mistress had gripped her. “Is Mistress fine?”

“I am not. Why did you de-program the droids?”

“They talked too much and floating droid beeped loudly and made Ben cry. Bella wanted silence to play … with Ben. Ben … likes playing. He is … funny.” She giggled at the last sentence. And to prove her point, she dug from underneath her mattress and showed her what he drew. There were a bunch of lines that Catherine thought meant nothing, but Bella told her they meant to show a clown. "See? Ben ... he is funny."

“Shut up you idiot girl. Ben is a baby. He thinks everything is funny. Now get up and get dressed and go back to watching over Ben and if I catch you dancing around him like an idiot, I will not let you play with him again. Understood?”

“Yes … mistress.” Bella said lowering her eyes. She waited until she left so she could smile. Anakin had left but he had left her with something special. The nights he kissed every corner of her body had brought back a feeling that she thought were long gone. He made Bella feel special.

After she put on her simple clothes, she went to see Ben. He was there waiting for her, clapping his hands once he saw her. She chuckled. He was so perfect. Anakin was wrong. Nothing bad could ever happen to someone so sweet as him.

* * *

Margaery fired more shots at target practice. She and Doreah had talked about having kids again. Like her sister, she didn’t feel they had to have kids now. And not from their own body but Doreah was insistent.

Marion realized how much this meant for Doreah after she saw her diary and the ring that had once belonged to her father. Oberyn Martell. Elia had been his favorite, and Doreah had always strived to be the best, and often competed with her younger sisters.

 _Not only does she want me to bear our child, she wants the donor to be her father._ It would be a way of her father’s legacy to live on, while also raising her own blood. Skywalker and Martell. Dangerous combination. Far more poisonous than any of the members in her late family.

To be fair to Doreah though, she couldn’t blame her. She had lost her entire family, and the reason why she wanted Marion to patch things up with hers, was because she had seen what vengeance and hatred had done to hers.  
But Doreah didn’t know Marion fully well. She had not known the lessons that her mother, great-grandmother and grandmother had taught her, and the others she’d learned with her sister Leia. She didn’t believe in forgive or forget, she believed in survival and hatred was just another tool that helped her achieve her goal. Without it, she would have never survived the Death star or the ordeal at Jabba’s palace.

In the end, Marion accepted. After Doreah woke up, Marion surprised her by telling her she agreed. Doreah jumped from their bed and told Leia, Han, Luke, Bess, and even the Targaryen siblings and Owen Tudor.  
Marion smiled at the memory. Doreah could not be trusted to keep a secret, but she was happy to see her wife smiling again. And the prospect of raising a family together after the war was a welcoming one. The Empire had the DNA of her family, and among them was his father.

After she put her blaster rifle down she took up her blades and went into the other room and activated the simulation. She had gotten better at this. Owen, her siblings, and the Targaryen siblings still got the top marks, but she had broken the rest of her rebel companions’ marks.

_“What do you want to be?” Margaery asked her daughter, putting on a hair clip bearing the Tyrell symbol of the gold rose, on her hair. She did not want her hair to be done in a bun, or in two buns like it was the fashion at court. She wanted her daughter to have her own fashions._

_Marion thought well and hard. “A Princess.”_

_Margaery smiled at that. That was what she wanted to hear. Her daughter could do better than that. “What do you really want to be?”_

_Marion became thoughtful then imitated her mother’s smile. “Beautiful and graceful like you lady mother and much more.”_

_“That is the right answer. When someone tells you are the opposite, show them your grace. Show them kindness. The sweeter your weapon, the more lethal it is.”_

Marion kept hearing her mother’s gentle voice as she finished every one of her virtual enemies. She put her spear down and grabbed a bow and threw arrows at another assailant.

The simulation had ended. She hit the showers then put on baggy clothes and returned to her bedroom. Doreah was still out, preoccupied with training the new recruits.

* * *

Anakin was getting used to practicing in jungles. The climate was hell, but there were no people which made his training far easier. R2 was the only person keeping him company. The droid was special. While the rest valued his companionship, Anakin saw him as something more than a metal companion. Back in his days fighting for the old republic, he had valued the droid's friendship and had been unable to part from him, even when Obi Wan said that all hope was lost. He would have gone to the ends of the galaxy to save him, just as he would have done the same for his loved ones.

“You can come out of the shadows Jon.”

“How did you know I was here?”

“I am Force-sensitive remember? I can sense your presence, especially those closest to me.” Anakin explained, putting his lightsaber back in his belt. “What are you doing here?”

“You know the answer to that. The question is what are you doing with her.”

Anakin sighed. “You know the answer to that as well. I was going to follow your advice and take us both.” Jon’s eyes widened in alarm. “Luckily for us, she spoke my name. She says she is still there, deep down buried beneath the humiliation and her new persona, Mary is still there.”

“You should listen to yourself. Just look at her and really look at her, not like a love-sick teenager but like an adult. She is pathetic. There is no way that this will end well. The rebels will never forgive her for what she’s done and if the Empire wins, she will live the rest of her life in servitude. Better end it now before things get worse. The Emperor will hang you, and before that he will torture you and knowing how sick his new favorite is, she will be forced to watch.”

Jon softened his tone. “I know you love her. You are my friend and my brother in arms Anakin and I hate the way Sansa and your mother-in-law are treating her-“

“She is not my mother-in-law, we are not (technically) married.”

“Who gives a flying kriffing shit! I am sorry what happened to her, if I had some magical tool to make all things better I would but I don’t. This is the reality we are living in. It is fucked up but it is all we have. The more you keep deluding yourselves that you are going to live happily ever after like this was some fairy tale, the more she is going to be hurt in the end. Look around you. The Empire is crumbling, the Emperor is hanging people by the hundreds every day and Grand Moffs are being found in the middle of the street with their throats slit. Nobody is safe. People are hungry for revenge, it is not going to go away that easily. When they are done with us, they are going to come for you and her. You are on their number one hit list. And she is next after you.”

“We will be gone by the time the war is over.”

“They will follow you to the ends of the galaxy. Nowhere will ever be safe for the two of you, certainly not for me.” Jon said sitting down in an old stump. He sighed. “You probably already heard about me and Sansa.”

“You also knew what you were getting into when you married her.” Anakin bluntly said.

“Yeah, I did but at the time it seemed like a good idea. We have only lasted this long because of Lya and Ned. Now that they are gone, everything is crumbling down.”

“What does her stone heart mother say?”

“That stone witch blames me for everything and says the same thing she did after Bran fell. ‘I wish it was you’. For all her class, she knows how to hit beneath the belt better than anyone.”

“She is an entitled, high-born who served on her firstborn’s war council, what do you expect? You marry her daughter, you get the mother too.” Jon nodded, finding some humor despite their grim situation.

“You always had a way of hitting hard too. Reconsider my proposal. It is not too late.”

Anakin sensed there was more than what he was telling and asked him what he was not telling him. Jon told him about the prophecy.

“Catherine de Medici was a superstitious woman, same as her husband. If Nostradamus was a true seer why didn’t he warn his mistress to watch out for you?”

“He did, but he also said that the chances of us catching them were too high that one didn’t need to be a seer to see that. I think he wanted us to catch him and scare my wife off. Knowing she’d tell her mother. Mission accomplished.”

“Nothing bad will happen to your son Jon. You said it yourself, they want blood, they want us. If there is anyone who they are going to hang or drag to the mud is me, Mary or you and Sansa.”

But Jon wasn’t so sure. He had seen people at their best and their worst. He prayed to the gods of his forefathers that he’d live long enough to protect his family.

Before he left, he told Anakin about something he had found while digging through the Imperial top secret archives. He gave the data disk to Anakin who put it into R2. The droid gave a cheerful beep. His red eye turned to Jon causing him to smile.

"Bail Organa was right in keeping him and C-3PO close to Leia and the lady Marion."

"I would have never forgiven him if he wiped out his mind like he did with C-3PO." Anakin said, feeling thankful that the astromech droid remembered everything. "Play it R2."

 ** _Sure thing Anakin._** It said in a series of beeps that only a few could understand. Anakin was among them and while Jon was clueless to what the droid said, his head movements gave him a good idea of what he meant.

When the message was played Anakin was surprised to see Grand Admiral Thrawn in what looked to be a facility of some sort.

Seeing his confusion, Jon said the base was located on Jakku. "The Emperor has ordered the installation of secret bases all around the outer rim and the unknown regions. Jakku is just one of them. It is there where he has all the DNA of those that perished on Earth and other planets before he became Emperor of the Galaxy."

"What is so special about Jakku?"

"Officially, nothing. The site is a junkyard but the facility is one of the biggest kept secrets in the Empire. After you left, the Emperor ordered the construction of these bases. Jakku has had a level of success no other base had. I had my suspicions about what they were experimenting. I heard a rumor among some of my colleagues that he was trying to recreate the Jedi order, using the Kaminoans technology, but what they are really doing is far more horrifying."

The recording showed a series of kids being picked up from the street. Thrawn was replaced by another official he recognized as Brendol Hux. "The beatings are necessary. The subjects are held under water... Shattering the mind is necessary to ensure the subject's manipulation ... They will be cold, they will be hot, making their minds fracture ..." His face twisted with disgust. "Unfortunately we have met with little success. There is no such thing as injecting the Force. The Force surrounds and abide us to quote from one of the Jedi Masters

The video then showed one of the children fastened on the metal table. "Those that participate in this 'ritual' as some of the programmers call it, will put lights over the child's table. The intention is to make some of them into vessel, so the entity would possess him."

"What entity?" Anakin said, growing angrier by the second. His eyes blazed with hatred.

"I do not know. I asked Melisandre since the ritual is very similar to the one she used to bring me back to life. She says she does not know either, or she is not sure. She was very scared when she saw it. She sensed a dark presence near us as we finished watching it. I don't know if you feel it too. I don't feel anything."

"That is because you are not Force-sensitive." Anakin reminded him. He felt that dark presence too. Except it wasn't just one entity he felt when he saw the recording, there were many floating around the poor child, all competing to get in.

"These children are Force-Sensitive but without a powerful Force-sensitive, the product of powerful Force-sensitives, none of these test subjects are strong enough to capture the entity. Some of the survivors have reported seeing swirl of colors or voids. Doctor Fou believes it has to do with mind-alteration, unfortunately mind-alteration in the hands of useless subjects is simply, that useless."

His face was replaced by someone else that Anakin didn't recognize. A female officer. "When you put a child into a dangerous environment, you strip him or her of everything that makes him or her an individual. The program has not met with success because of the Jedi Order did not allow its members to have children, however there were some illegitimate offspring born and these offspring have had a level of success that others have not, but their minds aren't strong to hold the entities. Without a strong subject, nothing will come out of this." She paused as if something came to her mind then added. "We've had setbacks with project 'Coatlicue'. Cloning has not been successful and gene-editing has been editing. Our only alternative is to try harder but with the war raging on, there is no other option but to bury everything before the Rebels get this information."

The recording then showed more images and Anakin felt hit by visions of himself when he was a slave and saw other slaves being raped, beaten and murdered, his mother's death and finally Mary making love to him for the first time then being paraded down the streets, begging for mercy.

Anakin told R2 to stop. "You need to tell them to stop doing what they are doing. They are messing with forces out of their control. Your witch was right Jon, there is something sinister here but it is not what she probably things." Anakin told his friend. What he didn't tell him is that in one of the visions he had, he saw something or someone escaping but instead of going into one of the children, it had gone somewhere else.

After Jon left, Anakin returned to his chambers. R2 was there with him. He gave low chirps and showed him images of him and Mary when they were young. It gave him little comfort.  _What are you planning Sidious? Just what do you want to release?_

Sidious' master had the power to bring the dead back to life. That was not something out of the ordinary. Some red priests had that ability back on Earth. What was extraordinary about his methods though, was  that he could do it without fracturing the person's mind. Every time someone returned from the dead, they returned different. Even clones were not exact copies of the original. Experiences were what made someone unique. Even if you were to download the original test subject's memories into its clone, something would always be different. _Unless you download a soul._  
Plagueis had learned how to do it, and supposedly he had also learned how to create life out of nothing.  
_Maybe not out of nothing._ Anakin thought. Maybe he used more advance technology that, coupled with his knowledge of the Force, made essence transfer much easier.

It was a scary thought. Someone learning how to download souls. It was the key to immortality. If the kings of Earth were still alive, they'd pay a fortune for this technology.   
It was what had made Melusina being reborn as Mary in the first place. Yet, as much as the Woodville women loved to boast of their ancestress, she wasn't a powerful entity as the ones the Emperor wanted these children to host.

R2 beeped, breaking his chain of thought. Anakin looked down at his fist.

Blood.

He looked in the mirror and saw his nose was bleeding. He wiped it clean then sat back on his bed. Whatever presences were there, they were more sinister than he initially thought.

He closed his eyes and tried to tap into their energy but he no longer felt them. _Strange_. He tried one more time but once again, he felt nothing. Where could they have gone? A powerful presence could not have vanished into thin air, let alone two.


	43. All Seems Well

_“All is well_  
but I have not been to paradise  
All is well  
No, I haven't been to paradise  
Toll the bells, all is well  
watch the days go by ..."  
~I've not been to Paradise by Zoe Poledouris

#  _"The pursuit of knowledge is hopeless and eternal.”_

**_~Professor Fansworth in Futurama_ **

Anakin caressed the soft surface of her back. “Feels good.” Bella whispered, her lips curved upwards into a smile. She had begun to say more sentences and although her mistress told her it was useless for an “idiot girl” like her to try, she did it anyways because she wanted to be able to express herself fully to her loved ones.

“It does. Remember when we did it under King Henry’s nose when Jane Seymour thought you weren't feeling well?”

She laughed and nodded. “You said … we are studying ancient tongues.”

“You didn’t stop telling Susan: Watch the door. What the door. I thought that she would tire of hearing us copulating that she’d quit but she stayed.”

“Susan … was loyal.”

“She was.” Anakin said, wrapping his arms around her tiny waist, bringing her closer to him. “She used to threaten me. 'If you hurt her, I will break your legs.'”

She turned her head. “She didn’t know you … like I do.”

They shared another kiss and another until their lips were dry and their bodies were sweaty. “Where do you want to go after this is over?” He asked her after they dressed.

“Unexplored regions … There are facilities we can hide.”

“The rebels will confiscate them if the Imperial survivors don’t take those first to make their last stand. We can’t risk being at the center of their squabbles. As soon as this is over, we are going to one of the neutral planets and leave the rest of the galaxy to their own devices.”

Bella didn’t like the sound of that. What about their children? She asked. His response was simple. “We have devoted our lives to the service of others. I am tired of fighting others’ battles. First I was a slave, then I was the chosen one, something I always resented and you were the Queen’s daughter, then a bastard, then an Inquisitor and finally-“

“Dumb?”

“Servant. Luke, Jane Kyra, Leia, Marion, they have their own paths to follow. There is nothing more for us to teach them.”

“I will miss … them.” She said lowering her eyes. He lifted her chin and gave her a light kiss.

“They will be fine. You and I are the only people that matter.”

"And Ben."

"And Ben." He agreed. 

* * *

Jon waited until Anakin was finished with that imbecile so he could knock some sense into him. “Had a good night sleep?”

“As a matter of fact I did. Much better than yours.”

“This is not a laughing matter Anakin. Sooner or later her mother and Arthur are going to find out and they are going to hand her to the Emperor and you know that son of a bitch has been waiting for the perfect opportunity to hand her over to Jakku so they can use her as a lab rat like the other test subjects.”

“The Emperor won’t do that Jon. You’ve shown me yourself in the recordings, he is looking for young test subjects. As powerful as she is, Mary doesn’t fil the bill and even if she did, the jewel would be a powerful protection against any evil entity. Besides,” Anakin quickly adding seeing his friend was about to protest. “He needs Catherine in his power, and the best way he can is by keeping Bella with her and Arthur.”

“What about Ben? He is not above using infants. Ben is a Kenobi and a Tudor and Tratasmara who is the son of the reincarnated ancient goddess Melusina, he’d make a great test subject.”

“He wouldn’t.”

“How do you know? You have seen what the Emperor is capable of, he will stop at nothing to release those entities and hold them captive. That is why he is using the children.”

“Because in order for him to do that, he needs more than just the descendant of a powerful magician, he needs me.”

Jon's brow furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“The Emperor wanted to clear all history of me and other important Jedi, including my former master, that is why he guarded my medical records zealously.”

“You can’t be suggesting what I think you are suggesting.” Jon said. “The Emperor would never be so bold-“

“You said so yourself Jon, he will stop at nothing to capture those entities. What better than the cloned vessel of his former apprentice?” Anakin suddenly chuckled. “Luckily, he will need more than my blood to do the trick. I tried to tap into some of those Forces and it caused me a nose-bleed, imagine what it would cause an untrained childhood version of me.” He became serious again. “The only way the Emperor can achieve his goal is using a powerful descendant of my line, or using gene-editing as Plagueis used with Obi Wan’s parents and even then, the results could be catastrophic. Everything from psychosis to sociopathy could affect the child’s behavior. The latter can be controlled and turned into something productive, but with all the knowledge of his ancestors hitting him at once, there is no telling what that will do the child’s physical development as well, and how it will affect others. It can’t be done.”

“Grand Admiral Thrawn certainly believed it can, that is why he told the Emperor to build the outsposts and the research facilities in the first place and agreed to go outside the galaxy in search of the Emperor’s ‘secret weapon’ whatever the bloody fuck that is.” Jon sighed. “I sure miss the days when the biggest horror we knew were White Walkers, Separatists and crazy mad scientists.”

“And don’t forget Force-forsake-witches and angry Queens.” Jon laughed.

“That too.” Jon agreed. “How is Lya?”

“As well as it can be expected. Your son however, he is getting close to Bess Tudor, something her mother isn’t fond of, but you remember what I told you from my younger years at her father’s court. She has her father’s temper and if she wants something, she will get it.”

“Ned has that temper too. But he is also honorable to a fault. Brendol Hux used to say he is the greatest thing in the Empire since the Grand Admiral and you and me. It is too bad his mother and grandmother didn’t see that.”

“They are still fretting over that nonsense Nostradamus said about your daughter?”

“It is not just that anymore. Melisandre said she saw something else in her flames.”

“You should know better than trusting in that witch Jon. She sacrificed a little girl to bring you back. Why do you still feel you owe her that much? You should have hanged her the minute you found out about Shireen.”

“I was going to but after Palpatine declared himself Emperor, she saved me from a firing squad and showed me glimpses of my future. The people I would save, the children I would have. Everything I ever wanted since I was a bastard at Winterfell. I would be lying if I didn’t say I was not tempted the first time she and Stannis showed up in the wall and offered to legitimize me as Jon Stark and make me Warden of the North. There was nothing more I ever wanted than to be seen as a Stark, and be as my father. After I was brought back to life and discovered the truth about my parentage, everything changed. I fought the good fight just like you. I was honorable, I was good and what did I get in return? My men stabbed me in the back and until his last moment, Ser Allister Thorne cursed me and accused me of a traitor. I decided I had enough of honor. Oaths, Gods, the Seven, none of that mattered anymore. So I made my new bed, next to a red haired Stark, a Tully witch, a red priestess and an old man.”

“But why did you still decide to keep her? You could have tortured her into telling you what you wanted to know many times. Why did you insist on bringing her on every mission?”

“She has power. I do not know if her red god is as real as your Force or if they are all and the same, or part of a greater power but I do know that she has power and she told me that I have a purpose to feel. What purpose, I asked, she is not sure. But it is an important one, otherwise her god would not have told her to save me.”

Jon paused, then continued. “Nostradamus also had visions of you and Mary.”

Anakin narrowed his eyes. He was not ready to believe the nonsense of an old terrestrial fool, yet Jon believed in the words of these seers, so he pretended to be interested.

“He told Sansa that Mary’s line by the lion would bleed. I think you know what that means.”

“I do and I have said it before Jon, nothing bad will happen to Ned and Lya while I am with the rebels.”

“You can’t stop crazy people. What if one of the survivors of the families we hurt decides to take vengeance? What if instead of them it is Owen and they are targeted anyway because they know how much they mean to him? I do not need a seer to see that is going to happen sooner or later. They are at the hornet’s nest, and as long as Sansa, Lady Stoneheart, or I live, there will always be someone looking to hurt us and what better way than taking what we most love?”

“And they say I am dramatic. We can’t stop these things from happening, the best we can do is hope that they will be smart and let me tell you, Lya and Ned are smart and good fighters. Nobody gets close to either of them without Bess scaring them away, or Owen showing off his Jedi skills, or your daughter threatening to dismember them and feed their limbs to the dogs.”

Jon chuckled, reminiscing of another wild girl who would threaten nasty boys like that.

“I hope for both our sakes you are right. But what I said still stands. I do not need to be a seer to see that it won’t end well for her or for you.”

“Stop worrying about me and worry about you and Sansa. She and her mother will be the death of you. Mark my words.”

Anakin did not need to tell Jon that thrice, but Jon nevertheless, kept stressing his earlier point to his old friend.

“She will make you happy for a time.” Jon said before he left, adding as he boarded his speeder. “Then one day you will wake up and find everything you work for, gone and you will turn to the woman lying next to you. She is not worth your life Anakin. And even if she is, she will never be a valued member of society.”

* * *

Jane Kyra opened the trinket her half-brother had given her. She was happy every time she opened it and it was her signal for her uncle to come and visit her. This time it was no different. When he appeared, she hugged him.

“You talked to me two days ago. I haven’t been gone a long time.”

“Two days is long enough for me. Why did you not tell me about the Bendou?”

“I didn’t want to stress you. You have been through so much already.”

“If this is about me and Luke meeting Kinvara a year ago, it is not that big a deal. We met her. She didn’t tell us anything new that we hadn’t heard from any crackpot.”

Owen Lars smiled a sad smile. Despite his niece’s refined new self, she was still as bold as ever.

“When Beru told me that you had thrown a tea pot he bought for you across your room when you heard Biggs Darklighter say that Luke was after one of his cousins, I knew that your bond with Luke was something other than sibling love.” He said with a grin.

“You don’t … disapprove?”

“I can’t say I approve. My father followed the gods and my mother, you know now, but it is commonly accepted in other sectors-“

“Of the galaxy." She finished for him. "I know. But I can see it in your eyes uncle, it makes you uneasy.”

“It is not something that I am used to Jane, you have to give me time to get used to the idea. But what makes you happy is good enough for me. Although you would do better to look somewhere else.”

“I am trying to let go of my feelings but I can’t. Luke is always there in my dreams, even when I meditate. He tells me we must train, that even when our fight is over, we must still focus on the Force because it will be up to us to rebuild the Jedi.”

“You don’t sound too convinced. Perhaps you should follow a different path.”

“I want to, but it is my duty as a Jedi and a Skywalker. I owe it to the people my parents killed.”

“No, you don’t. Jane your future is not set in stone. Mine wasn’t. I knew what Beru and I were getting into when we got you and we did it because we fell in love with the two of you at the spot. We wanted children and you two were like a blessing. There was never a day we didn’t feel grateful for having you two with us. My only regret in life was leaving this life too soon. I wish I could be there guiding you as your grandparents guided you and Luke, and hold you after your father revealed the truth to you.”

“You were there with me uncle. You have always been there with me.”

“But not in the way I wanted. Your grandmother Shmni, the gods bless her soul, used to tell me that you cannot stop the suns from setting and she died believing that it was fate that brought the Jedi into her homestead and her into my father’s but it was not fate, any more than it was your father meeting Luke’s mother or yours. Things happened by chance. Sometimes bad things happen to us and there is no other explanation other than we were there at the wrong place at the wrong time, or vice-verse. You don’t have to follow Luke if you do not want to. Do what you want to do. You have done great things in Tatooine, many girls want to be educated because of you and follow your sisters’ example. Continue to do good work in other places, do what you do best. Inspire people. Teach. You are a natural born teacher.”

“I am not that great of a tutor. The first day I started teaching I stuttered like a teen girl on her prom date.”

“That is normal. You should have seen me the day I proposed to your aunt. I threw up in her dress.” Jane Kyra laughed and said he was joking. “I kid you not. Beru said aloud ‘that idiot spilled his stomach contents’ then she told her best friends that I looked a bigger idiot when I went to refill her drink and spilled it all over the floor.”

“How did my aunt ever say yes to you?” And how come I never heard this story? She wondered. Luke will definitely love this! Owen more so!

Seeing the mischief in her eyes, he warned her not to. “Your brother won’t stop talking for days and your half-brother Owen will likely think you were raised by idiots. I certainly would if somebody told me that story.”

“It is a funny story, how can I not tell?” Before he could say something, she asked him again “How did my aunt say ‘yes’? Did you have to go on your knees like the royals did on Earth?”

“Thankfully no. But I was close to but I remembered something my mother told me before she was taken back to her home planet. She said ‘Owen treat her well, whoever she may be’ and then she told me to tell her how I really feel and give her something I made so I did. I gave her a shawl I bought and added some modifications to it and a bracelet made out of some stones I found. Your aunt always had it next to our bed, she said it gave her strength.”

“I never knew Owen Lars had that sweet side to him. You are a sweet man uncle.” Jane Kyra sighed. “Maybe someday I will find someone like that.”

“There are a few people here who would die to date one of the sun twins and with Luke taken, everyone’s focus is on you.”

“Not interested. I want to meet someone who loves the person behind the visage. Jane Kyra, not Jane Kyra Skywalker, or the daughter of the hero without fear or one of the great sun twins.”

“I won’t lie to you, that will be difficult. But there is always someone out there for everyone. I believed it then when I proposed to Beru and I believe it still. You just have to be patient.”

“Thanks uncle.” She hugged him again.

Owen wished he could tell her more but Jane had had visions of that horrible future. Hopefully, that and his pep talk was enough for her to change it to something better. Gods know that I do not want her to go through the same misery my mother went. Nobody deserved to go through that … much less her namesake and his niece whom he loved as if she was his own daughter.

* * *

 

Sir Thomas looked down at the family portrait of him and his siblings. He always envied Ned. People said it was the other way around but they were wrong. Ned was the one many girls flocked to (initially) because he was the eldest and the rising star of the Seymour family. After he was bold enough to buy Jersey island from one of the King’s officers, every woman at court was dying to be his next wife but the lucky one turned out to be that shrew, Anne Stanhope whose royal background propelled Edward to the top. Then their sister became the King’s wife, gave him a son, and everything seemed more golden than ever.

Thomas couldn’t wait to meet with the beautiful women at court. He’d joked with Jane and ask him which woman was better to deal with, regarding her predecessors. To his shock, Jane said that the right thing to say was Catherine but in truth, she preferred Anne. She revealed to him that it was because Anne’s background was similar to her, that she sympathized with the woman (somewhat) but unlike others, she was not a hypocrite to pretend she had been sad because like her, she knew that this was a highly political game and no one was a victim.

Many at the base thought it was ironic that Jane and Anne had become best friends. Everyone expected her and Catherine to bond right away, but most of these people only knew them by what they heard in Imperial magazines and textbooks, and heresay. Royal courts were all about lies and giving the right impression and as it happened, Jane was really good at both.

 _So is Han._ Thinking about his son was frustrating. He had accepted Han’s union with the Alderaani Princess, Leia Organa, but he wasn’t happy with it. What Jane told Anne stuck in his mind. They had both played the game. Getting close to royalty had gotten everyone burned.

Ned, Anne Stanhope, his father Sir John Seymour and his mother Margery Wentworth, his younger brothers John and Henry and sisters, Dorothy and Elizabeth. All of them were gone.

He put the miniature portrait back inside his coat. The air conditioner was very high so clinging on to his furs seemed appropriate. He was still as Knight after all and despite his son’s disregard for protocol, Thomas was all about first impressions. He valued obedience, experience, and duty.

 _Perhaps that girl will knock some sense into him._ He smirked. Unlikely. The high and mighty Princess would likely tire herself first and threaten to leave him if he didn’t ‘mend his ways’ and even then he would not do it.

Han didn’t know what he got himself into when he married that girl. She would make him happy … for a time.

One of these days he would wake up and find himself lying next to someone who was not more special than any other woman he bedded. Who was just like the rest. Ordinary, mediocre, no better than him or his cousins.

 _And he will blame it all on himself instead of her, and she, being the noble woman that she is, will blame him as well and make him look like the ogre of the story_.

And she was a Skywalker. Nothing good ever came from a Skywalker. He wanted to believe that she had used the Force to lure him in, like a siren from the ancient Greek myths, but as time went on, he realized that there was no denying it, Han was in love with her. And she was in love with him. Or what she believed was love.

When Henry VIII fell ‘in love’ with Catherine of Aragon, he was a little boy. She was exotic, alluring. Something new and as she got older and he did as well, he could not resist the thought of having her in his bed so he made her his wife. Then came Anne Boleyn. Something that was new and alluring, but far more exotic because of her French manners and naturally he had to have too. His sister Jane was plain in comparison to them, but she was beautiful nonetheless and her silent demeanor intrigued him because he wanted to try something ‘different’ so of course, he had to have her too.

Princess Leia was surrounded by people who loved and worshiped her. The sun twins were their heroes, their symbols, but Leia was the pillar which supported the Rebel Alliance. No other person had wielded such authority. Not even Mon Mothma or the Princess’ adoptive father, Bail Organa.

He wouldn’t be surprised if she ended up as the new chancellor or in some other high position of power. She had the love of the people -and more importantly their respect. And just as she could inspire trust, she could instill fear in men’s hearts.

Han was out of his league. A woman like that would always put duty first. Love, children, they meant nothing to her more than the love of her people, and their security.

* * *

“Is he still with her?” Anne asked Jane who won this round of card game.

“She returned from another mission and the two have spent three nights and four days together. Everyone at the base complained they are too loud. Especially Han.”

Anne laughed. “You sound proud.”

“He is my nephew. Of course I am going to be proud. Thomas on the other hand still thinks he is an idiot.”

“And you?”

“I think it is sweet that he is following his heart, but I wish it would be with someone else. Someone simpler, someone …”

“Like us?” Anne offered.

“Let’s be honest do you think Princess Leia will ever make him happy?”

Anne doubted that.

“She will likely abandon him for the first pretty face he sees, or for a change of someone less loud. Han is an adventurer like Thomas, he is not the type of man to settle and be serious and the Princess wants someone to worship her 24/7.”

Anne agreed with Jane. “Not to mention that she thinks she is always right. What she wants, is what everyone wants.” Anne added to what Jane said.

“Just like someone we knew.” Jane reminded her.

“Just like someone we knew.” Anne repeated. “It is too late now. They are married and they will likely have children one day. God save them.”

“I won’t let that happen to their children. Han has always been a wild card but Princess Leia is pretty predictable to those who have been in similar positions. If she were to choose between saving one hundred strangers and a child of her body, she would choose the one hundred strangers and people would hail her as ‘Leia the dutiful’.”

Anne scowled. She had seen enough of the couple to know how far gone Han Solo was. Nobody had tamed him, he would claim, except her. It was sad. She was going to be the death of him just like his father-in-law had nearly been the death of her stepdaughter.

“I don’t know what the future will be for Bess. She and Ned haven’t decided to marry. Sometimes I think the two will remain single and live like two strangers making love claiming they are friends but are something more.” Jane laughed at that. “At this point it is far better than your nephew. If the Princes rises high, I want my daughter and you to rise high as well.”

“I am done with politics.”

“So am I but it would be good having one of us on the inside and if something goes wrong with this princess’ new government, you could save their children.”

“If they have a temper like those two, god save us all.” Jane said and Anne nodded then laughed at the improbability of another Skywalker falling to the dark side.

* * *

Luke closed his eyes in meditation. He could see glimpses of the past when he was with Carina, but his visions of the future weren’t as clear as when he trained with Jane Kyra. Nevertheless he had chose Carina for his bed, because unlike his sister, he felt there was less controversy amongst the less studied terrestrials.

He did have feelings for Carina, but they paled in comparison to those he had with his sister. A Force bond was a powerful thing. It never goes away and even now after he opened his eyes and was greeted with the sight of Carina, he thought of Jane Kyra.

She had agreed to rebuild the Jedi Order because it was their destiny but sometimes he was worried that she had still harbored doubts about their destiny. Just what she was so afraid of that she couldn’t trust her own brother and fellow Jedi?


	44. What have we become?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone has a boiling point and some of the Skywalkers, Targaryens, Starks and Kenobis just reached theirs.

_"I hurt myself today_  
_to see if I still feel_  
 _I focus on the pain, the only thing that's real_  
 _the needle tears a hole_  
 _the all familiar stain_  
 _try to kill it all away_  
 _but I remember everything_  
 _What have I become my sweetest friend?_  
 _Everyone I know goes away_  
 _And you could have it all_  
 _my empire of dirt_  
 _I will let you down_  
 _I will make you hurt."_  
**~Hurt by Johnny Cash**

 _“And when you get too close to the sun, your dreams may melt away.”_  
**_~Narcos, season 1 (2015)_ **

Three years since Mary and Catherine had bene taken. And three years since Obi Wan had died. Jane Kyra and Luke had tried to convince their sisters that they needed to set their differences, but when it came to holding a grudge, Leia and Marion were every bit like their father.

“They are never going to change, are they?” Jane asked her sibling.

“Not likely. But at least Leia is preoccupied with making future plans with Han, your sister-in-law has finally been convinced to form a family, same as Marion and Carina and I have decided to tie the knot after this is over.”

“Congratulations.” Jane said, being genuine.

Luke reached across the table where they sat, on the ceiling. It was reminiscent of when they’d pull up their wooden table and sat across from each other outside their aunt and uncle’s farm in Tatooine.

“I know how hard it has been on you, but regardless of what happens, you and I will always be together.”

“I know but I am afraid.” Jane Kyra. “Sometimes I dream of different futures where I die or you die, or we both die and the Empire reigns for a thousand years, and sometimes I dream of you and me on an island overlooking the ocean.”

“You remind me of that dream all the time when we are not training, and you never tell me how it ends. Carina had to pry it from you and even she didn’t want to tell me.”

“It’s not something that a sister should tell her brother on the day he tells her he is going to marry the love of his life, or something close to it.” She said, feeling that immense sadness -and envy- again as she thought of her brother and Carina walking down the aisle.

“You can always count on me for anything sis. We are one, don’t forget that. And we still have one more training to complete.”

“You think Master Yoda will want to train us after everything that’s happened? We did break the code and gave in to our feelings last time and it resulted in our near deaths.”

“But we have learned so much since then. This is our final step, proving to the Emperor that we are not like our father. Then we can go on and bring the Jedi back. A new Jedi Order, like before but free of the mistakes of the old one.”

Luke sounded more confident than she did. She remembered what her uncle said. She did want to follow her own path, but her own path always included Luke and she couldn’t imagine a life without him.

“Trust me, we won’t fail.” He said, and as before, she agreed.

* * *

Arthur drank from the best wine in the galaxy. He rested his cup on the table next to him, then grabbed another cup filled with acid and poured it on his prisoner’s leg.

The dirty urchin screamed from the top of his longs. “You unholy construct of evil. All of you have been deceived by an agent of Satan! He is an abomination, same as the others-“

He didn’t get to finish his sentence for Arthur asked one of the Stormtroopers to give him his gun. Another one of his legs came off. Arthur looked at the former priest with glee.

“The problem with you holy men is that you are so certain that the powers that be are on your side that you don’t stop and think that maybe Allah, Jehova, God, Krishna, the old and the new gods, or whoever they may be don’t give a bloody fuck about you.” Arthur took out his knife and to end the man’s misery slit his throat.

“Send his body to the body disposal. Have his remains along with the others be recycled and turned to canned food for the lower sectors.”

“Yes, my lord.” The troopers said. Arthur had had a privileged life, but part of that life included being lectured by priests twenty-four-seven.

It was no wonder why he was completely oblivious to when Catherine came, a fair-faced, blue eyed, dark haired beauty, who had been coached by the most cunning kings in Christendom, he became stiff as a board. In contrast to her political education, Arthur got priests who taught him about the sanctity of marriage and very little about what he should do on his wedding day. His father told him that everything depended on him, but when he asked him what he should expect from his bride, Henry VII told him he should not concern himself with such things and instead pray. His lady grandmother was worse, telling him that if he kept asking questions, he would give people the wrong idea that he was just like his Yorkist grandfather. And then there was his lady mother who thought he was nothing like her beautiful younger son, Harry, whom she said was every bit like her perfect father.

Naturally, every priest that he questioned, encountered the worst side of Arthur. A side he owed to years of neglect and his mother’s ancestresses who took away his chance to be King. But most of all to his Plantagenet ancestors who had made England one of the greatest realms in Christendom.

It wasn’t just holy men that suffered when they came face to face with the last Tudor Prince. Women suffered as well. Arthur loved whispering in their ear, every prayer, in every language known to terrestrials, as they watched someone they held dear to their heart, suffer. Sometimes he would have them decide who died first. His greatest ‘playmates’ as he called them were Anne Askew, the Protestant preacher, and Margaret Roper, the self-righteous daughter of the Catholic martyr. Destroying their faith was his greatest achievement. It was one thing to torture holy men, but women was something else entirely.  
Seeing two women whose whole lives revolved around the teachings of the Almighty -who said that they should be submissive, and yet they thought they were an exception to the rule because God had told them that it was their duty as good Christian women, to preach the world of the gospel to the world- beg for mercy, after being broken, was the sweetest thing Arthur tasted. And like his Plantagenet ancestors, once he got a taste of blood, he had to have more.

When he went into his office, he saw he had a message from the Emperor. His Imperial Highness told him that the experiments on Jakku had been a failure, and the expeditions to the unexplored regions had given very little intel. Arthur grinned. That disgusting old man wanted one of his sons to be experimented one like the other boys. He was crazy if he thought Arthur was ever going to agree to that and he told them that in a way that the Dark Lord of the Sith wasn’t insulted.

 _The Emperor can keep taking children from the streets, I don’t care. But he is not going to lay one finger on any of my boys._ There was a way he could still get Owen back and convince the Emperor that his son had been swayed by his mother and grandfather. While Bed was just a three year old who didn’t know right from wrong, and under his and Catherine’s guidance, he’d grow into being the perfect Imperial officer.

He’d have better luck going after the Skywalkers. Arthur wished they were in his custody so he could deliver them to the Emperor and see them suffer the same horrors those children on those facilities were witnessed to. And better yet, have their father bore witness to it.

The former right hand man of the Emperor would fall. He was sure of it. His father had dealt with many terrible men in his time and if there was one good thing he had learned from his father, was never be afraid to use lethal force against an enemy.

Unbeknownst to him, there was someone on another star destroyer, plotting against the Skywalker clan as well, but unlike him, her plan was subtler and far more ruthless than anything anyone in the Empire could ever conjure and when it was set into motion, it would change the fate of the galaxy, spawning a reign of terror unlike anything ever before seen in the galaxy.

* * *

Ned drank strong coffee. He had been up all night thinking about his mother. It was not a good way to spend the night. And if Bess found about it, he’d have his head. It is not a comforting thing to hear ‘oh hey, while we were making out, I was thinking about my mother and what she might say.’ He didn’t want to be perceived as a mother’s boy. He was not like her father, certainly not like Marion’s surrogate grandmother’s cruel son, Joffrey Baratheon.

He didn’t like his mother’s plots, the way she despised others for no reason. His grandmother was worse. Greed had poisoned their souls, barricaded their souls with hatred and resentment. More than anything, they were a reminder of everything that held him back.

There were times when he wanted to tell Elizabeth ‘fuck everyone, let’s go our way, together’ the way that the former lord Vader had asked of his lover, but every time he was about to say those words, he found himself unable to. He wanted to continue to fight, whether it was for the Empire, or the rebels, or for his loved ones. He was a warrior and he intended to be one until the day he died, but he was also his parents’ son, and as such, he couldn’t shake the lesson he learned from them. Even if he wanted to. And god help him, sometimes he did. But other times he felt grateful because without those lessons he wouldn’t have survived this long in the enemy’s lair.

He poured more sugar on his drink. He needed to be alert. His mother’s actions against one of the greatest monuments on Earth had made many terrestrials edgy. Superstitious fools. Statues could be rebuilt, churches could be re-constructed under new false promises of salvation and glory. Human lives on the other hands were irreplaceable.

“You must not give yourselves to brutes. Men and women who regiment your lives, tell you what to think, what to feel, who treat you no better than they'd treat their dogs. Don’t give yourselves to these unnatural people. With machine minds and machine hearts. You are men.” The voice in the plasma screen said. It wasn’t a vulgar shout, it was sophisticated and elaborated. Something that sounded so beautiful and yet so fierce that would no doubt, move many to rise up in arms “in the name of democracy”. ******

He smirked. “Still watching Princess Leia and Lady Marion’s televised transmission?” He looked behind him to find Bess. “Yeah.” He turned back to his drink. “Lady Marion just stole the show with that speech. What kind of idiot do you suppose will fall for that?”

Bess shrugged sitting across from him. “I don’t know but there are many who will find those words comforting, including myself. Your mother had no business destroying that temple.”

“So the rebels will cry over a thousand year old structure but won’t hesitate to murder two people who are innocent of their mother’s actions in their sleep? Beautiful.”

“It was a symbol of home. My home, your home too Ned. You don’t go into someone’s home and destroy what they hold dear. Savages do that.”

“You forget that savages also kill thousands to build their monuments. That precious monument of yours was built with the blood of Pagan slaves. I am not completely ignorant of your planet’s history Elizabeth, I know what our ancestors did and what their religious fanatical descendants would do again if they come into power. But anyways, it is not my business anymore to care.”

Bess sighed. “Why do you keep denying your heritage? It is your planet as well. Your mother had you and Lya there, on the place where Winterfell used to be.”

“So? Do you want me to go on my knees, or bend over and cry for mercy, or cry like some Christian ninny, or be like the last Turkish Sultan and slaughter those who disagree with me unless they are “good people of the book” in which case they will just have to pay a special tax?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You know what I mean. You are terrestrial just like me. You were born on Earth, your parents are from the blood of the dragon and the ancient kings that ruled Westeros long before the Andals came. If you can’t feel any connection because of what a few in your ancestors’ circles have done-“

“A few? You call murdering children and burning women, and beheading those who were heretics and infidels a few?!”

Bess continued, ignoring his interruption. “At least do it for me. I have met many terrible people like the ones you describe and great ones as well who just want to do what is right.”

“Bess, what is right for them is not what is right for others. They want to impose their beliefs on others. If it was for them, we would go back to the stone age, living in mud huts, and stoning women like they did in your messiah’s time.”

“Jesus Christ told us to forgive. He asked his fellow men and women not to stone anyone unless they were free of sin. You know why he said that?”

“I don’t care but I have a feeling you are going to tell me anyway.”

“He knew that people were fallible, and easily manipulated so he chose to kept his message simple in a way everyone would understand them because not everyone was fortunate to be blessed with intellect the way he was by our heavenly father. You might think it is stupid and if I were in your shoes, I would think it was stupid too, but that is what I choose to believe in, and what many others from Earth choose to believe in as well, because it brings them comfort and all they care about is looking out for each other.”

“That is a good argument, unfortunately evidence doesn’t back it up. Every terrestrial has tried to kill me because of one monument. One. There are many just as important. Why this one cries out to them?”

“Eddard don’t do this to yourself. Don’t torture yourself with questions you already know the answers. Symbols are what people live for. It is why Lady Marion and Princess Leia have taken advantage of their siblings’ image. The Sun Twins move others to fight and now Lady Marion’s last words will move more. Just look at those images. The temple being burned, people crying, praying to their god, or their gods. It is a powerful image that evokes the loss of something they once held dear, security, fear, tyranny.”

“It is a sham.” Eddard said looking at the images with disgust, thinking the people crying were even stupider after hearing someone whom they’ve never met, calling them to unite against the Empire.

Bess took his cup and drank the remaining coffee. “Perhaps you are right but I know for a fact I am right as well. You think too much sometimes Eddard. You need to start interacting with some of the people here and see them less as enemies and more as potential allies. You never know when you might call upon one of them for help.”

Ned took her advice but it was hard. These people were fools. Religious superstitious fanatics, and yet they cared for the same things that he and his former fellow Imperials did.

He still thought that Lady Marion and Princess Leia were populists, but he acknowledged that their words had power and like his mother once said Varys told her before he died, words, spoken even by the lowest of men or women, cast a powerful shadow and they had the power to change fate.

* * *

What Jon always warned Anakin would happen, finally happened. Arthur cared very little what their useless maid did. He loved seeing the dark side in Catherine fester to reveal someone as fierce as what was whispered of her mother, the Catholic Queen, Isabella I of Castile. But she on the other hand suspected something was amiss. Without Arthur’s knowledge, she put cameras on Bella’s bedroom whenever they were on the villa on Naboo.

After Anakin left her, she came back. Fully dressed, Bella greeted her with the same goofy smile but unlike before, Catherine was not ready to insult her. Instead she slapped her to the ground.

“Not feel good.” Bella said, shocked that her mistress had gone this far.

“How do you think it makes me feel knowing you whored with that man?”

Bella’s eyes widened with fear. She looked away but Catherine forced her to look at her.

“Mistress … do not be angry. He loves me.”

“Grow up! He doesn’t love you. Have you taken a good look in the mirror lately and seen how you stutter every time you talk? Nobody could ever love you.”

“You took Ben away from me!”

“Arthur did that and I am glad because what kind of life would he have with you? A useless girl behaving like a common harlot and a disgraced Jedi.”

“Ben is my baby! And Anakin loves me. He loves me for me and is he going to make me very happy.”

Catherine laughed coldly. “You still believe in fairy tales. Look around you girl! Do you see prince charming coming to rescue you? Do you hear his horse galloping down the lush fields, calling for his red-haired beauty to be released from prison?”

“I told him … I … wanted to stay here.”

“And handed him the keys of the castle so he could please you ever night.” She said with a cruel grin on her face, enjoying seeing her servant break under pressure.

“He is … a good man. He has a good heart.” At this, Catherine’s smile faded and was replaced by anger.

“He took my daughter from me. Filled her brain with useless ideas of love. My daughter was destined to be a Queen and he ruined her just as he ruined another girl from a good family. This is where Padme Amidala Naberrie lived, a girl he claimed he loved and look where she is now. Her ashes lie somewhere in one of the high temples of this planet.”

“Anakin is not like that. He has changed.”

“Changed?! Men like him never change. They only want one thing and that’s to sleep with as many women as they can.”

“No!” She shouted, rising to her feet. All the fear that had been characteristic of her left her. Regardless of who her mistress was, she was not going to let her make false accusations against Anakin. They loved each other, and nothing and no one was going to change that. “He said he loved me. He whispered my name.”

“And what name is that? Mary? Is that why he comes into your room every night and you being the slut that you are let him do things to you? From the video I saw, you two looked like pigs, fucking each other in the hay.”

“You filmed … us?” Fear returned to her eyes.

“How else did you think I knew about you two? Up and down, up and down, all night long. You didn’t even let him start before you twined his arms around his neck and then moved one underneath his pants. Not even the best harlots do that.”

Bella lowered her eyes. Catherine pushed her chin up. “Look at me when I am speaking to you. Fucked him right and good, you let him take you on the floor, on the bed, on the wall. I wonder if it is his semen I am stepping on right now.”

 **“Catherine that is enough.”** None of them heard the ghost of Obi Wan Kenobi who appeared in his daughter’s room, sensing her distress, telling her to stop. But Catherine was too caught up in making the girl who was the living reminder of everything she lost, suffer to pay attention to some forgotten memory.

“Or maybe it is his hands that did most of the work given the finger prints on your mirror behind you. Perhaps he wanted to see you on top of him, or just wanted to see your face while he fucked you while you were laying on top of the mirror.

“Stop it. You are making Bella … making me-“

“What? Upset? You can’t even utter a full sentence without sounding like a four year old.”

Obi Wan glared at Catherine. How could she say such things to their own daughter? He was about to open his mouth when Bella spoke.

“At least I have someone with me. Do you not miss Mister Good, mistress? Didn’t you love him? Didn’t he make you happy? Is that why you don’t listen to him? Is that why he doesn’t visit you anymore, because you abandoned your heart?”

“Shut up.” How dare that girl evoke memories of her and Obi Wan. And Obi Wan, how dare he show up for her, when he should have shown up for Catherine instead? Seeing Bella shift her glance from her to Obi Wan drove her crazy. Those eyes. _My daughter’s eyes._

“Why do you have my daughter’s face?”

“Mistress still has her daughter. I am Bella.”

Wrong response.

She threw Bella on the bed and pushed her face against the pillow then lifted it up and down, then up and down again. Obi Wan tried to get Catherine to release her but her hatred was too strong. Then Bella yelled. **“Mommy.”** And she finally let her go.

“What did you say?”

Obi Wan was by Bella’s side at once, and took her to another corner of the room where he hugged her and rocked her back and forth as if he would a child.

“I want my mommy.” Bella whispered to the dead Jedi. Tears were streaming down her face. She had called on her heavenly mother, the one who her mistress, before she became evil, said would always protect her but nobody came. _‘I’m pathetic’_ And without thinking, as she felt Mister Good’s hand pass through her hair, she voiced her thoughts.

“You are not pathetic. You are my daughter and I am so sorry I can do no more.” Obi Wan then looked at Catherine. Disappointment and anger were written all over his face. His eyes seem to ask ‘How could you?’ as she moved closer.

As she knelt next to them, she asked her again. “Bella, I need to know, do you remember who I am? Do you remember me as mommy?”

Bella was too afraid to look at her mistress. Don’t look, don’t look, her survival instinct told her so she didn’t.

“Catherine, perhaps it is better if you leave the room.”

“No. You heard what she said. She said ‘mommy’. Why can’t she say that to me? I want my daughter back.”

“And you think I don’t? You think I haven’t been suffering ever since your husband killed me and I saw what you became? If it were up to me she would be back, same as she was before but maybe it is not up to me to decide.”

“There you go again. It is not up to me. You are just perfect aren’t you Obi Wan? ‘It is not up to me to decide.’ I had to forge my own path, I had to lie and navigate through murky waters and dirty my hands and where were you? Off to some other adventure for your precious Jedi Order while I was left off to pick up the pieces and pass your daughter as Henry’s!”

“I never asked you to lie for me Catherine.”

“All those years, wasted away, teaching her about ruling, how to be a good Christian woman. I had dreams too Obi Wan. I wanted her to rule. I wanted her to be strong like her father!”

“And whose father is that? The man you married and you kept lying to that you came to his bed a virgin?” Obi Wan shook his head. “If you had asked, I would have left the Jedi Order.”

“I asked you and you said ‘it is my duty.’ But you were ready to leave it for that … other woman! You were ready to abandon everything you fought for, for her! Satine was so beneath you. I was the one you loved, I was the one you knew first and you preferred her over me.”

“I loved only one woman and that was you. I gave my life for you, broke me Jedi vows, just for you. What I had with Satine was special, but it was nothing compared to what the two of us had. I still want to believe that we have something special.”

“We do not. You loved her. Not me.”

“Catherine-“

“You proposed to her and you lost your mind after she died in your arms, while you let our daughter be turned into this useless fool.” Bella cowered when her mistress sent her finger flying in her direction. She had turned because she felt the jewel was shining again, and whenever it did that is because it wanted her to _see_ something and that usually meant something related to her mistress, so she turned in her direction but trembled in fear when she gave her the same look of disgust as before.

“Why can’t you say ‘mommy’? Why can’t you call me ‘mommy’? You spread your legs for that bastard, why can’t spread your arms for me?”

“Catherine, I have always loved you and I love you still, but I cannot condone what you’re doing. What our daughter did was awful but you are her mother. You are supposed to be better. You always stood higher than any politician. People loved you because they saw a woman who was better than her husband, better than the rest of her family. Show me that you are that person again, Catherine. Show your daughter as well.”

Catherine looked down at the wretched thing cradled in Obi Wan’s arms. _He’s always been devoted to others._ First the Jedi Order, then Siri Taichi, then Satine, and then his daughter. _When am I going to learn that he never loved me?_

 _But_ , a voice in her head said, _he is right._ _Mary is your daughter. She is still there, buried deep beneath Bella._

 **No**. She refused to believe her Mary was alive. Mary would not have cried. _She would have fought me, told me I was wrong and even used physical force. This thing, this pathetic creature is not my Mary_.

The women in her family were strong. They had to be, for they had a great legacy to live up to. The daughters of the Great Catholic Kings, they were every bit of ruthless. Catherine, learning from her sisters’ mistakes, swore that if she ever got the chance to be in their position, she would not fall pretty to love and be as strong as her father and ruthless as her mother.

 _And yet I did_. Falling in love with Obi Wan had been the greatest mistake in her life. The only joy she had were their descendants. They were perfect. Well-built, attractive and strong in the Force, and natural born leaders like their maternal ancestors, but they still had a weak spot when it came to others. Even Marion. Though the young woman was stubborn to admit it, she loved her friends dearly and would give up her life dearly for them.  
There is no one in my family left with my parents’ strength except me.

As she turned around, Obi Wan helped Bella up then walked to Catherine.

“I am sorry. I truly am, I wish that I was the Jedi everyone thought I am but I am not. I made a lot of mistakes but there is one I don’t regret and that is you. I hope that one day you can see the light at the end of the tunnel as I have.”

Catherine said nothing. Obi Wan returned to Bella and said farewell. Both women refused to talk or see one another for the remainder of the day. Bella spent her time playing with Ben, careful not to make him laugh too hard so Catherine would not have to come and reprimand her worse than she did earlier in the day.

Ben noticed that she was still crying so he asked her why she was sad.

“I am not sad.”

“You look sad. Here,” Ben said with a toothy smile, going to his tissue box and then back to Bella. “You are all good now.”

His voice was like a melody she heard from a girl who had once been in her mother’s arms, dressed in a golden dress with a pearl diadem on her dark red hair.

“Thank you … Ben.” She sniffed. “You make me feel better.”

“You are my friend. Friends help each other.”

 _I wish you could call me ‘mommy’._ She thought but contented herself with him being nice to her and letting her mistress and Arthur let him play with her.

“Did you hear … fight?”

“No, I was listening to this audio book mom bought me. History of Westeros.” He showed her taking the data disk from his pocket and putting it in his console and the narration started.

Bella could barely concentrate, feeling hurt that it was her mistress who got to be called ‘mom’. But it is good, because she is right. _What kind of a mother would I be to someone as smart as Ben?_ His laughter brought her attention back to him. The console then projected an image of a mock battle that ended with everyone running away from each other after they thought they saw the shadow of an ice dragon floating above.

**_“The armies stationed at Casterly Rock made their last stand against their enemies, the Tyrells and the Martells, united under the banner of the red dragon by the Mad King’s daughter, Daenerys. It was a battle that was supposed to be won by the mother of dragons but after the Empire’s ship were thought to be the legendary feared Ice Dragon, they scattered away, leaving the Dragon Queen at the mercy of the Dark lord, Darth Vader who delivered the final blow …”_ **

Ben turned it off then looked at Bella. “I wish I could meet him.”

“You will. When it is safe I will let you see him but Ben must keep secret for now.”

Ben nodded and said "Ben will" handing her another tissue knowing how important it was for Bella to keep the former dark lord of the Sith safe, and if it made her happy, then he was happy. As he took out a necklace he made for her, the jewel in her choker shined brighter and when he thrust it in her open hand, she forgot all her misery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Inspired by Charlie Chaplin's speech in his film The Great Dictator. While a brilliant speech that resonates with many people, it is also highly idealistic and it is something that I imagine Leia or Marion would have used to move others to join the rebellion.


	45. Looking ahead after looking back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the sun twins are on their way to visit a dying friend, the rest of the rebels ponder on the future while some stuck in the middle come to terms with what's happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are nearing the last half of Episode six and some of the dialogue is taken from the novelization of the movie.

_“My hope is on fire_  
My dreams are for sale  
I dance on a wire  
I want to fail her …  
I walk against the stream  
far from what I believe in  
I run towards the end   
trying not to give up

 _Lost in the darkness, faded away_  
I am still around here screaming her name…  
My heart is frozen, I am losing my mind  
Help me, I am buried alive …”  
**~Lost in the darkness by Within Temptation**

_“Alas, how can the poor souls live in concord when you preachers sow amongst them in your sermons debate and discord?”  
**~Henry VIII in his last speech to Parliament (1545)**_

The Super Star Destroyer, renamed The Prime Executor, rested in space above the half-completed Death Star battle station and its green neighbor, Endor.

While the Sun Twins were off to visit their dying friend, the last of his kind, Jedi Master Yoda, Grand Moff Targaryen and Lord Commander Tudor were in charge of making sure everything was ready for the Emperor’s arrival. Everyone aboard the battle station were working themselves to the bones.

General Jer-Jerrod greeted Admiral Piett. “Sir.”

“At ease.” Piett told his fellow officer. “The Emperor is becoming impatient Jer-Jerrod. He expects the station to be completed within a month.”

“He can’t expect us to work faster than what we are already working. My man have barely had a good night sleep. I have barely had a good night sleep.”

“That is not my business. Just do as the Emperor commands, and General, good fortune.” Piett said, a sorrowful glance passed through his face as he looked at the Stormtroopers and the other men who were working against the clock to complete the Emperor’s monstrous weapon.

“Good fortune to you too sir.” The General said. A great weight had been placed on his shoulders. He wasn’t sure if he could do what the Emperor asked of him. But unlike the Emperor’s new seconds-in-command, Piett was far more lenient.

Piett closed the doors behind his office and pushed a button that projected a hologram of the former dark lord of Sith and right-hand man of Palpatine in his days as Anakin Skywalker, the chosen one, and Jedi hero of the republic.

 _Strange._ Piett had grown with tales of this man his entire life. He never figured Vader was him. But as time went on and he rose through the ranks, he figured the truth but he never voiced it or blackmailed any of his superiors. That was not in his nature. He was a man of honor. A man who gave his life for duty and did as he was told. He was soldier through and through.

 _And yet everything I have is by accident._ If his commanding officer hadn’t gotten on Vader’s bad side he would have never gotten promoted. A part of him wanted to believe it was because Vader recognized his abilities as the more competent of his crew. He had helped designed many of the probe droids and cracked the rebel codes that helped the Empire close in on the rebels. But the truth was that like everything in life, it was by mere chance. He happened to be standing in the right place at the right time next to the wrong man facing one of the fiercest men in the Empire.

He replayed some of the news reel from the times of the old republic. Anakin Skywalker had been more than just a mere symbol, he was everything that people wished for in a hero. He was in the people’s minds, flawless and unlike the Jedi who were arrogant, he wasn’t. He actually cared for those he fought for.

It was surreal seeing his former commanding officer being a figure of hope where he was now a figure who inspired fear and hatred in men’s hearts. And women. The news reel showed the other great hero of the old Republic, the incorruptible Senator of Naboo, Padme Amidala of House Naberrie.  
He had sold his soul to the devil for her and he still ended up losing her. Then there was the lady Mary. A woman who had loved him more than anyone could ever love him, but like his wife, she paid a high price for him.

 _It is surreal._ He thought. Almost thirty years ago the old Republic collapsed because of its arrogance, and now the Empire is facing its same fate. Piett was sure that whatever outcome, he was not going to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Men like him were expendable. History would only remember the victors. They would rewrite history. He would go on trial as a traitor and called all kinds of names.

The Emperor wanted to give false hope to his troops by boarding the new destructive weapon and promising them victory but there was no way they’d win. Support for the Empire was at an all-time low. Destroying a huge chunk of the rebel fleet would only increase support for the group as they’d be seen as martyrs and if there was something that stirred people to action more than anything was symbols, especially martyrs.

 _That is what the Emperor fails to see. He is as arrogant as the system he once ruled._ Piett shut off the device and sat down. Normally he would be demanding his men to increase security but he didn’t care anymore. He’d rather die than be taken alive by the rebels.

* * *

Anakin knelt before Bella who had responded to her Christian name again. But she not reverted back to the proud, conniving woman she was. She told Anakin the night before that she didn’t want to go back to being Inquisitor, or Princess. “All I want is to be with you and Ben.” Anakin wished he could fulfill every promise he made to her, but they were not ordinary citizens. As long as they lived, they’d be hunted down and pushed through the mud by every faction.

“I wanted to give you this. It is my old lightsaber.” He said thrusting it into her open hand.

She grasped it, amazed that he had retrieved it. “How?”

“I know a few people and your father knows a lot of interesting people in the black market, let’s leave it at that.” He said with a smile.

“I will guard it zealously. Not even Ben will touch it.” She said and in response he kissed her. “I love you Anakin.”

None of them acknowledged Catherine standing by the door, neither did they bother to turn their heads for the Force ghost next to her.

Catherine waited until they parted then greeted her daughter’s lover with a cold smile. “Just like the devil, dressed in your best, turning good women into whores. I should have accepted Cersei’s offer and marry her to Tommen.”

“If you had listened to Queen Cersei, you would have been no better than your mother. You know why you hate me lady Catherine? It is not because I am a bastard or I came from nothing. In the beginning I thought that was the sole reason, but I have finally figured it out.” Anakin said. “It is because of your daughter. You loved Mary because in your view she was perfect. She was everything you wanted in a daughter. Despite your claims of legitimacy and all that cock and bull you conjured at Blackfriars, you couldn’t bear the thought of giving Henry VIII a daughter because he was weak, and selfish. Obi Wan on the other hand” He turned to his former master, “was handsome, strong. Just what you wanted in a man. He was your knight in shining armor. You didn’t care if you had a girl or not, any child born of a strong Force user like Obi Wan, would ensure your success. But then Henry fell in love with Anne and all your plans came crumbling down.”

“I did give Henry a son. When my little boy was born was the happiest day of my life but you said it yourself. Henry’s line was weak. His maternal ancestors’ curse killed my son because of something his miserable father did. England needed an heir, I would have given everything to be what Henry wanted, but I loved Obi Wan and I need someone to take care of the mess my husband and his father had created.”

Anakin smirked. “What did you expect, my lady? Did you really think that England would welcome the idea of a female ruler? England was not Spain and the fact that you’d be behind her, whispering every time she was with her privy council was enough to alarm everyone. Even the old Republic saw that you’d be the real King of England, not your daughter.”

“My daughter was destined to be a Queen. She was the granddaughter of the Catholic Kings, she was mine. You had no business corrupting her.”

“Corrupting her? I did nothing of the sort. I loved her and I still do.”

“Really? Then why did you lie to her? Hmm? You told her that you loved her more than anything and while you were fucking her, you had another high lady waiting for you in Coruscant. You want to know the real reason I hate you? It is because everything you touch, you corrupt. You ruined two good women who were going to do good things for their people and the galaxy, but just like every other men, you had to have them.”

“She is right there.” Obi Wan said, regretting he had to agree with his former lover on this. “But Anakin did pay for his sins, Catherine and you have come to terms with it yourself, Mary is with us and you should be grateful that we are all on the same side again.”

“I am not going to feel grateful until he admits his sins. You took my daughter away from me. My child. She was good, she was innocent. She was pure and you turned her into a common whore.”

“If anybody turned her into a common whore, it was you. I did terrible things and as Obi Wan said, I am paying for them, but I am not responsible for what happened to your daughter. That is on you.” Anakin said. “People loved you when you were the queen of hearts. When you built hospitals, schools for the poor but when you began to push Henry and Anne into a corner because they wouldn’t agree to your demands, you became the Protestants, and the Pope’s number one enemy. You threw a tantrum and that is why people turned against you.”

“I was going to do marvelous things to England, for the women of that country.”

“Yes, you would have, through Mary.” Anakin said.

“Not Senator Padme though.” Catherine said, her eyes hard and cold. “She would have done greater things for the people of this galaxy if you would have not killed her.”

“Yes, and that is the saddest thing of all and I have had to live with it every day of my life, but you, a royal, do not because you lack a conscience.” Anakin said, moving past her, not waiting to hear anyone of their response.

* * *

“That was very unnecessary of you.” Elizabeth told Anakin after he arrived at the rebel space station. The two were playing a game of chess like they used to when she was a child and he had been the only one besides Mary who befriended her after she became a bastard.

“When I was four, after you and Mary married, remember? You used to tell me that you respected her mother and admired her for all the good things she did for her adoptive people. Was that a lie?”

“It wasn’t.” Anakin told the former princess, eating her pawn. “But I also hated her because she was just like any other politician, any other royal who cared little about the people. Her actions and with all due respect, your mother’s as well, were nothing more than part of boosting their image.”

“Perhaps but you got to admit that the people loved them for it. Many here love my mom and Catherine for that still, even Jane Seymour.”

“People love what they’ve read on them from books. If they knew the real them, they would feel differently.” Anakin said, grinning when Bess used her king to eat one of his bishops. The young woman always knew when to surprise him, using the weakest pieces on the board to take on his strongest ones.

“Are you really going to leave after you and Mary get Ben back?” Anakin nodded. “Shame. You’d do much good if you stayed. There are some bad people on both sides, but if they see you and Mary helping Luke and Jane Kyra rebuild the Jedi Order then they’d change their minds about you.”

“They are never going to change their minds about me Elizabeth. I made my own bed when I married Padme. I broke the rules from day one. I wasn’t supposed to be a Jedi but Qui Gon insisted, so in their view, I was guilty the minute I walked into the Jedi Temple and as for Mary, her association with me is everything they need.”

“You have an ally in me, and Owen, Lya and Ned, Jane Kyra, Luke, even Han. We won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

Anakin smiled at her. She was a true gem. One of the few good things to come out of Earth’s royalty.

* * *

Lya couldn’t wait to tell Owen the good news. _Honey you are going to be a father_. No, that was not good. _Owen, you are going to be a parent._ That sounded almost right, except it wasn’t her style. It was far **too** formal and it reminded her of her lady mother and lady grandmother. She figured the best way to break the news to him was being herself, telling him when he was with Ned in the mess hall.

A mischievous smile appeared on her face as she thought of how he’d drop his fork or spit his drink, while Ned would slap his back and pity him. Knowing her brother’s girlfriend, she’d probably laugh and tell the whole base.

She sighed. She wasn’t the romantic type but she loved the idea of her child being a girl and reckless and rebellious as her, causing trouble wherever she went and making her father’s hair fall of. Looking down at her stomach, she placed a hand on it. It was still flat. nobody would tell she was with child until two months or more. But there was life growing inside her and maybe she didn’t need to tell Owen. He was Force-sensitive, and as soon as she entered the mess hall, he’d know.

That put her mind at ease. She wasn’t good when it came to words and as previously stated, she wasn’t the romantic type. Flowers, sweet words, it wasn’t her.


	46. Future Trials

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As our heroes wrestle with what they have been through, they are told they must face their ultimate challenge if they want to destroy the Empire and save their friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have included lines from the novelization of Return of the Jedi and the movie as well but some changes were made.

_“My hope is on fire_  
My dreams are for sale  
I dance on a wire  
I want to fail her …  
I walk against the stream  
far from what I believe in  
I run towards the end   
trying not to give up

 _Lost in the darkness, faded away_  
I am still around here screaming her name…  
My heart is frozen, I am losing my mind  
Help me, I am buried alive …”  
**~Lost in the darkness by Within Temptation**

**_“_ ** _With politics and war, the trick is in the timing._ **_”  
~Narcos, Season 2 (2016)_ **

Grand Moff Jon Targaryen and his wife, Lady Sansa Stark, her mother, Lady Stoneheart and his witch, the red witch, lady Melisandre, greeted the Emperor. Standing next to him was Arthur who in true royal fashion of his native home, took his hat off, not letting anyone see what was inside.

Had it not been for his (now) imbecile maiden, the former princess of England, Lady Mary’s past self, Melusina, he would have become King of England. As King, England would have never fallen. Like his father, Arthur was pragmatic, having very little regard for anyone except for his wife, his dear Spanish Infanta, Catherine of Aragon. No words were spoken between them. There wasn’t any need to. Arthur’s loyalty had been tested time and time again, and he had always came through.  
Jon on the other hand was a soldier, through and through. A man whose loyalty was to his duty. The Emperor had good reason not to test him. Men like Jon could walk away at any moment when they felt they were at their breaking point, doing something they considered dishonorable.   
His wife however, was the complete opposite. Unclouded by passions like the man next to her husband, and unbound y duty like her husband, she was of no interest to the Emperor. In his view, she was nothing more than a woman. Jealous, prone to irrational bouts of temper-tantrums. People like her belonged in one place and one place only: the kitchen.

Vader once told one of his subordinates that the Emperor’s arrogance was his greatest weakness. Needless to say, no one listened except for one. Sansa had overheard one of his conversations with Admiral Piett. She had suspected the rising official was on Vader’s side ever since the former dark lord of the Sith had killed his commanding officer to promote him. One of her ravens she had used to spy on the new Admiral confirmed her suspicions and she played back the recording to her mother.  
Despite his useless attachment to the Spanish Princess and Jedi’s bastard daughter, Vader was right. The Emperor’s arrogance would be his downfall and now more than ever, Sansa felt grateful that she had gone under his radar.

“The Death Star will be completed on schedule, my master.” Grand Moff Targaryen told him.

“Yes, I know,” replied the Emperor. “You have done well, Targaryen. I would have expected no less of your crew … and now I sense you wish to continue your search for the young Skywalkers and your friend.”

Jon remained stone-faced/ “Yes, Your Highness. Lord Vader sided with the rebels, he is a traitor and as long. As long as he is with them, he is also a threat, and so are his offspring.”

“He is no longer a lord. You’d do well to remember that Grand Moff Targaryen.” The Emperor said with annoyance. “Intelligence has told us that your daughter is expecting.”

Sansa’s head snapped in the Emperor’s direction.

The Emperor always knew how to rattle Jon’s cage. When it came to his children, Jon was just as weak as any other man concerned for their well-being. And then there was his wife, whom Palpatine knew would not stop complaining, along with her hag of a mother.

“Her marriage is a civil union. It can easily be dissolved.”

The Emperor chuckled. “Patience, my friend. Worry not. When the rebels are finished, your daughter and son will be back with you and your wife and you will be given full custody of your grandchild.” He promised. “Lady Melisandre what have you seen in your flames?”

“Nothing, Your Imperial Highness. The Lord of Light has not shown me anything.”

The Emperor grinned. The red witch was lying. “The Force will be strong with your daughter’s future offspring but it will pale in comparison with the offspring of Anakin Skywalker.”

“Anakin Skywalker was distrusted by the Jedi and politicians alike, while the Sun Twins are loved by everyone.”

“They are their father’s offspring and their feelings for each other are as strong as their parents’. You have your lady’s god, I have the Force. Both are one and the same and it tells me they will fall.” The Emperor said with a tone of finality and Jon said nothing more.

* * *

“I do not want to go.” Mary told Anakin.

“Arthur will know the minute he sets foot on this villa that you are not his servant anymore and your mother is not on his side. He won’t hesitate to kill you.”

“He can try but I am still Bella. I am Bella and Mary.” She said, rising to her feet. “All in one. I don’t want to go back being the person that I was but I know what I did, and I can’t part with Ben. If something happens to him, I would never forgive myself.”

“I swore that I would protect you and I intend to keep that promise so pack your bags. We are going.” Anakin said and Mary didn’t need to say more. He didn’t care about the consequences anymore. When he went to get Ben, promising an adventure, he was a young man again.

“Is mom going to join us?” Ben asked. Although she did not show it, the words spoken by her youngest son, caused her deep sadness.

Anakin told her she had to tell the truth to Ben before the war was over, but Mary didn’t have the heart for it. He had grown up knowing Catherine as his mother, and she didn’t want to cause any confusion.

 _“He is too young. It’s not the right time.”  
“When?” _ Was his question and she simply shrugged. _“When time is right, he will know.”_ Was her answer. Always simple, ever the same.

“Your mommy will be with us soon. In the meantime you will get to spend time with me and the hero without fear.” Ben’s face lightened up when she referred to him by his old nickname in the days of the old republic.

When they were on the air, he asked Anakin if he was really called that.

“I was called many things. I served on the Jedi Council and before that I lived on Tatooine with my mother as a slave.”

“But slavery is illegal. My daddy said that you eliminated it.”

“I did but I was born before the Empire. And the old republic never cared about the planets in the outer rim.” Anakin said, trying to keep it simple so the three year old but it was hard. The old republic was a complicated government and while everyone was fighting each other over trade routes, poor planets like Tatooine were ignored.

“Why didn’t they care about you?”

“Because they had bigger things to worry about.” Anakin said. “But I had a good time playing with kids in my neighborhood. I was your age when my mother told me I was special.”

“Was she nice like my mommy?”

“She was nice.” Anakin said, not wishing to say something good about Catherine, even when it was for his lover’s son’s sake.

“She would take me to the balcony located outside my bedroom and we would stay up for hours at night, looking at the stars. I would tell her ‘one day I am going to see them all’ and she’d say to me ‘I know you will, Ani. You are special.’”

Ben smiled. “She sounds nice. Am I going to meet her too?”

“She is dead.”

“Oh. I am sorry. She is still with you though, if you think about her then she is still with you. That is what Bella always says. Right, Bella?”

“Yes. As long as we think of the people who love us, they never truly leave us.” Bella said kneeling next to him.

After she put him to sleep she went to sit on the co-pilot’s seat next to Anakin.

“That is something sweet you said back there.”

“It was the same thing I told Bess after her mother died. Ben reminds me a lot of her. She would ask questions and stare at the sky just like you told Ben you did when you were a child. ‘Why are the stars moving?’ ‘When am I going to visit them?’ If you are not careful, he might end up becoming a pilot like you.”

“I could teach him. I could steal one of the X-Wings from the rebel hangars and we could pilot it together.”

Mary laughed. “You will have better luck impressing him with your lightsaber. Ben is not that easily surprised as Owen was his age. You remember how you showed him your lightsaber that one time you and Tarkin came and he just stared at it, wide-eyed?”

Anakin nodded, smiling fondly at the memory. “You said that he was going to be a strong warrior like his father and years later after the death star blew, you threatened me that if anything ever happened to him, you’d cut me in half with my own saber.”

“I still might.” Mary said, her eyes filled with mischief. They gestured down to her hip where she had his saber. “I never break a promise.”

“You will have to try harder. I am the chosen one, remember? Dark lord of the Sith, Jedi Knight and the only human ever to race pods, and youngest pilot ever to blow up a Trade Federation station. I am not easily impressed either.”

He set the controls on auto-pilot and knelt before her. “I won’t let anything happen to your son Mary, I promise.”

She knew he wouldn’t. Anakin would do everything within his power to keep her children and their children, and his offspring with Padme safe. She had nothing to fear.

“I don’t want to go back to being the person that I was. I feel like I am still Bella but I know I am not that person anymore, but I don’t want to be Mary. How can I reconcile who I am. Does that even make sense?”

“It does. I don’t want to be known as Vader but it is inevitable that I be after what I did. But I am also known as Anakin Skywalker for what I did during the times of the old republic.” The former dark lord of the Sith said. “I am who I am. Vader and Anakin are part of who I am but they do not define me. If you want to be called Bella, I will call you Bella, but it is not all of who you are.”

“I want you to call me Mary, but I am not that person anymore.”

“Then Mary it is, but Mary, you have to accept what you did and own up to it. We can’t change what we did.”

“I know and I own it, but I am not going back to that dark place.” Mary said, leaning forward to kiss him. “Promise me you will never go to that dark place either.”

“I promise.” He said and returned her kiss.

~o~

Owen was happy to hear the news. As she had predicted, before she stepped foot in the mess hall, he felt something different about her and seeing her smile confirmed his suspicions.

Ned could not believe it. His little sister was going to make him an uncle. Lya had to remind him that in her view he was her little brother and he owed her some respect lest he wanted his arse kicked. Ned’s response was a low chuckle and a reminder that he knew her every moves and had had a promotion before they defected, making him the superior player.

“Arrogant fool. I have owned your arse many times in training sessions. General Hux spoke high of me.” Lya said, lifting her chin up, feeling a great sense of pride as she remembered all the praises she got in their younger years as cadets in the Academy.

“Yes, after you crippled half of his older class. But, he said that when it comes to learning from your mistakes, I was the best because I didn’t rush in to attack. ‘Calculating, methodic’ were among his many words used to describe me.” Ned said, happy with himself when his sister’s proud expression faded away and was replaced by anger.

“You want to see if you are right?”

“No dear sister, I wouldn’t dream of fighting you in your pregnant condition. Owen here would cut me in half if something happened to you and I would spend lonely nights with Bess chastising me every day.”

“Thank you. But you don’t have to worry about that. You are the better officer but she is the better warrior and you would be the one with your legs broken if you enter her ring.” Bess said and the others agreed.

Ned rolled his eyes. “You people are impossible. Owen, congratulations. If your child is anything like my sister then my condolences.”

Owen grinned. “I hope she is”

“She? You already determined it is a girl?”

“No, I haven’t Ned but I hope she is because I want her to be just like Lya. The men in my family have not been very good.” He said and everyone was silent for a moment.

Bess broke the silence by telling him of his grandfather. “What about Obi Wan Kenobi? He was the great negotiator and General, a true war hero.”

“He broke every rule in the Jedi Code, how can he possibly be a good example?” Lya asked, thinking the old Jedi was responsible for what was happening, but before she could go on, Owen told Bess with a smile “You are right. He was a good man, flawed yes, but a good man and a good mentor.”

Lya sighed. _There goes Owen again being too good for his own good_. The man had plunged the galaxy into civil war when he pushed his member into the Spanish Princess, stealing another man’s wife, and siring one of the most feared women in the galaxy who later became Vader’s concubine. Every bad thing that had happened to Mary was because of this man, and his inability to admit his mistakes before the Jedi council and his former apprentice. _But Owen admires him._ He had trained him, been there when his mother wasn’t, so for him any ill mention of him was unacceptable.

“Have you thought of good names?” Bess asked, seeing the scowl on Lya’s face. She and her brother still hated the Jedi. They thought they were hypocrites and hated the rebels for supporting them. Bess understood them, just as she understood Vader, but life would be so much easier (for them) if they let go of their hatred, and acknowledge that the Jedi were more than just a powerful order. They were symbols of peace and justice of a bygone era.

“I would like another Owen.” Owen said.

“No, not another Owen. It would cause too much confusion.” Lya said. “I would prefer something new or better yet, something old that hasn’t been heard. How about Brandon like Brandon the Builder.”

“There have been way too many Brandons.” Ned said. “Might as well name him Henry.”

“That is a good name.” Bess said.

“Henry VII, Henry VIII, and way before that Henry II whose outburst led to four crazy knights murder a holy man. You don’t want someone name after those people.”

“Those people are my ancestors and most of them are Owen’s as well. Say what you like, but they were all learned men who made history.”

“Yes, terrible history.” Ned believed.

“Seriously?” Ned asked, but seeing Bess’ look he said nothing more and simply shrugged. What sort of woman did I involve myself with? He was often amused by Bess. He loved how she challenged him and made him question his own beliefs. He did the same which she also found amusing. It formed the basis of their relationship. What other people found infuriating, they found exciting and whereas Bess’ uncle and Ned’s sister comforted each other with public displays of affection, he and Bess chose to challenge each other and others as their comfort.

“Looks like my brother has been tamed. You have to tell me your secret Bess. I never thought you’d be domesticated brother.”

“It is not that hard, you just need to be brutal in words.” Bess said winking at Ned who smirked at her.

“While you two are content in angering each other, me and Owen are going to go to our rooms and discuss names.” Lya said, taking Owen’s hand.

“What do you suppose they will choose?” Bess asked.

“I don’t know.” He said. “Knowing my sister though, she will probably win the verbal round”

“Can you … I mean, can you sense it’s life-force?”

“No. I am adept in the Force, I have studied it and learned a great deal in the short time I spent with the lady Mary and Vader, but I am not that in tune with it.”

“Shame. I would really love to know so I can sew a fine cloth with its name on it.” Bess said.

“Lya would like that.” Ned said, having seen Bess’ handiwork. She was more skilled in the needle than all of the people in the base, more so than her friend, Mary Stuart. “She doesn’t appreciate gifts as other people do, our mother said she should because it was the greatest feature a lady could have -being grateful- unless it is from close friends.”

“My mother has some of the finest clothes kept in her hope chest. I will use some of it and sew something. I have some good ideas what to do with it.” Bess said, the cogs in her brain already working on her next project. “I will have to borrow your crest.”

“Be my guest.” Ned said. “Are you going to intertwine the Stark and Targaryen sigil with the Tudor rose?”

“Yes, but I will add something more.” Bess said with a secretive smile.

In spite of her smile, Ned had a good idea what she would add. He just hoped that Lya would not mind the Rebellion sigil. _She probably won’t. In her happiness, holding her newborn, she will forget the rebel symbol on it and envelope her child with that cloth._

* * *

When Jane Kyra and Luke landed on the swampish planet of Dagobah, none of them knew what to think. A heavy mist hung in layers around them. The air was stale. The feeling of death was all around them like when they’d been visited by the ghost of the high red priestess, Kinvara.

Luke especially, had terrible ambivalent feelings about this place. After everything he and his sister had been through, nothing could shake the feeling that there were many dangers still lurking behind every corner, and he hadn’t forgotten what he saw in his own personal hell after he went in _that dark place_. His sister had followed. What she saw was equally mind-boggling, but unlike him, she refused to speak of it.  
Why? He wondered. What could have been more terrible than seeing the face of their father being replaced by his own? What could be more mind-boggling than having been visited by a phantom representing a dark foreshadowing of things to come if he followed his father’s dark path?  
He wanted to understand Jane Kyra’s reasons. But he was getting impatient and she knew, which is why she had become more passive, and tolerant of his displays of affection with Carina, voicing very little protest when he told her about his proposal.  
Were these feelings another test brought about by this dark planet? Was this the final test he needed to pass, and his sister as well, to become a Jedi? He hoped not, because nothing -and no one- stood in the way of him and his sister. He meant it when he told his half-sibling that nobody would ever replace her. **No one.**

As the two got closer to reaching their dying mentor’s hut, they felt the residual of the dark side of the Force. These forces were the reflections of the dark corners of their souls, and that made them more frightening because they were the living reminder that nobody was immune from the devil’s touch, even then Sun Twins.

They climbed around a barricade of gnarled roots, slippery with moss. On the other side, a smooth, unimpeded path led straight in the direction of Master Yoda’s hut; but they did not take it. Instead, they plunged once more into the undergrowth.

High overheard, something black and flapping approached, then veered away. Luke paid no attention, while Jane Kyra merely followed her brother. They just kept walking.

The jungle thinned a bit. Beyond the next bog, Luke and Jane Kyra saw it -the small, strangely shaped hut, its odd little windows shedding a warm yellow light in the damp rain forest. They skirted the mire, and crouching low, entered the cottage.

Master Yoda stood smiling inside, his small green hand clutching his walking stick for support. “Waiting for the two of you, I was.”

He motioned the two to sit in a corner. Luke was struck by how much more frail Yoda’s manner seemed -a tremor to the hand, a weakness to the voice. It made Luke afraid to speak, to betray his shock at the old master’s condition.

“The face you make,” Yoda crinkled his tired brow cheerfully. “Look I so bad to young eyed?” He turned to his sister and chuckled. “Your sister, impressed, she is not. Learned something from her, you should.”

Jane Kyra was not impressed, as Yoda had stated because she had sensed his dying state since before they made this trip. She was more in tune with others than her brother was. It made using the Force far more difficult. But she always found a way to clear her mind, focusing on what she needed to focus, and leaving others’ pain for another time.

“No Master … of course not.” Luke said, trying but failing again, to conceal his woeful countenance. He turned to his sister whom Yoda had stated, didn’t share his shock. Once again, his eyes asked her, ‘why did you not tell me he was this bad?’ and once again, he got the same response ‘would you have listened to me?’

He sighed. It seemed he had a lot to learn still.

“I do, yes, I do!” The tiny Jedi Master chuckled gleefully again. “Sick I’ve become. Yes. Old and weak. When nine hundred years old you reach, look as good you will not. Your sister … death, she understands … lessons she has listened to … from red priestess visit.”

The creature hobbled over to his bed, still chuckling and, with great effort, lady down.   
“Soon I will rest. Yes, forever sleep. Earned it, I have.”

Luke shook his head. “You can’t die, Master Yoda. I won’t let you.”

“Trained well, and strong with the Force are you -but not that strong! Twilight is upon me, and soon might must fall. That is the way of things … the way of the Force.”

“But I need your help. Jane Kyra and I need your help,” Luke insisted, quickly adding his sister, believing that she needed more guidance for him. Her reach to others, extended beyond his own, and there were so many abilities she had gained that she didn’t know how to control. Only Master Yoda could help him since their late tutor seemed more preoccupied with their father and her mother. “I want us to complete our training.”

“No more training you two require,” Yoda assured him, sighing sadly as his head motioned to Jane Kyra. The girl had gained so much power, and with great power came great responsibility. She needed a lot of help. She had her brother and her uncle for that. He would help her too from beyond the grave. His mission in this life had finished. There was nothing more for him to do. “Already know that which you need.”

“Then we are Jedi?” It was Jane Kyra who asked this time. Like Luke she was eager to prove herself to the old order of Force-Users, but she was more patient. In this matter however, she forsook her patience and asked the question that was on her and her brother’s mind. The whole galaxy counted on them. The only way they could defeat the Empire was by becoming Jedi Knights. Seeing the return of the guardians of peace and justice would move the people to rise up in arms against the oppressive regime, and instill hope in places where there was almost none. -Where the Emperor had taken it away with his death squadrons and death camps.

“No.” Master Yoda said, dashing their hopes. He added: “One thing remains. The Emperor … you must confront. Then, only then,, a full Jedi you will be. And confront him you will, sooner or later.”

Luke and Jane Kyra knew that, but they didn’t imagine that this would be their last test to prove that they were a Jedi and bring the old order back.

“Master Yoda, there must be another way to complete our trials. The galaxy needs to know that the Jedi are back, otherwise they won’t rise up to fight.”

“Jedi … adventure … he … she …seeks not.” He coughed. “Glory … he … she … seeks not.” Another cough. “Justice, peace… are his aims … knowledge, wisdom, compassion … must be yours … When people see you fight … more will join …” A greater cough. “Rest I need. Yes. A rest.”

Jane Kyra looked to Luke then to Yoda again. “Master Yoda, why did you not tell us Vader was our father? And the lady Mary my mother or of our true twins?”

“Tell you did they?”

The two Skywalker siblings nodded.

“Too much … I have seen too much … Redeemed they are not … yet … protect them from themselves … you must.”

“How? Everyone wants to crucify them and they have good reason too.”

“Revenge is not the way … The Jedi committed too many mistakes … letting our guard down … letting … what justice we thought was … being delivered on right and wrong people  …  do not let your hatred cloud your judgment … better you two must be…”

“We will, Master Yoda.” Luke said. “But we can’t make promises for our twins. They hate our father and Lady Mary with a passion. We can’t stop others who have been hurt by their actions.”

“Too much blood … too much blood… shed has been … Unfortunate it is.”

“What about what they did? Is it unnatural that they want revenge and justice to be served?”

“Unfortunate … not unnatural … twist my words you must not … your father did every time people pointed out his faults …” He shook his head. He feared that history was going to be repeated again. What was it that the terrestrial poets always said? History was repeated many times, once as a tragedy and second and thrice as a farce.

The new republic would be doing a great injustice to future generations if they enacted that farce. But seldom to people learn, even higher beings who think they are better than the beasts they speak for, because of their rank. The Skywalkers were too brash, prone to action, eager to prove themselves to the others, that they didn’t think their actions through.  
_Shame … shame …_ thought the dying Jedi Master. _The fate of the galaxy rests in their hands …_ He chuckled mentally … _It was as if the Force was playing a huge joke on everyone._

“Obi Wan would have told you long ago … the truth about your parentage … had I let him … had the Princess Dowager let him … but she and I were taken hostage by fear … now a great weakness you all carry. Fear for you all I do. Fear for you, oh yes I do.”

“Master Yoda, I am sorry.” Luke apologized. He trembled to see the potent Jedi so weak.

“I know,” the dying Jedi Master said. A sad expression crossed his face. “But face the Emperor you must and sorry will not help.” He leaned forward, and beckoned the sun twins to get closer. “Remember, a Jedi’s strength flow from the Force. Make mistakes we did, you must not! When you rescued your friends, you had revenge in your heart. If Vader and the lady Mary, advantage of that they could take, so will the Emperor. Do not underestimate his powers … that was the mistake we, the old order, did … When gone I am … last of the Jedi will you be. Luke, Jane Kyra, the Force is strong in your families. Pass on what you … have … learned … There are others that will need your guidance … pass on your knowledge, embrace what you are, do not keep yourselves hidden from others … do not keep …”

He caught his breath, and exhaled, his spirit passing from him like a sunny wind blowing to another sky. His body shivered once; and he disappeared.

Luke and Jane Kyra sat beside the small, empty bed for over an hour, trying to fathom the depth of this loss. It was unfathomable.

Luke’s first feeling was one of boundless grief. Jane felt his grief and was overtaken by it. Others’ intense feelings were always a threat to her own, but she had learned to master her emotions and cast others’, to retain focus. Luke’s emotions however were breaking her barrier of concentration. Like their father, Luke felt things too much and as a consequence, so did she. _It is part of the Force bond_ -she told herself but deep down she knew this was a lie. It was more than that. They had grown up together, learned to see each other as one that even after finding out the truth, it was impossible to shake their years of companionship.

The two exited the hut and trekked the swampy grounds, sitting on an old weathered log.

“He is gone. I never imagined he would be. He seemed unbreakable. Old, yes but unbreakable. He taught us so much.” Luke said.

Jane Kyra put his hand above his. She squeezed it gently. “I know it may seem hard now but things will get better. They always do. We have his lessons with us and like he said, we shall pass it on to others.”

“It is still hard. Everything we know, everything we have seen, it just seems so meaningless … what if the Emperor wins? What if we die? What if our father is not truly repentant as he says?”

“What if, what if, the world is full of what-ifs Luke. We must focus on the here and now. Kinvara was right when she said we have great power and we need to make the most of it. So is Master Yoda. We are strong in the Force. The only way we can win is if we don’t give in to anger, fear and aggression.”

“But how? The Emperor is pure evil and don’t tell me you haven’t dreamed of choking him with your own hands for what he did to our father and mothers.”

“I can’t say that I have not, but revenge is not the Jedi way, Luke and it is not the way your mother would have wanted you to proceed.”

At the mention of his mother Luke cast his eyes down. “I have no memory of my mother. I have seen visions of her in my dreams but every time I run to her, her face fades away. The only image I have of her are of holos and what the Naberries gave me.” He looked up to his sister again. “The Emperor is responsible for what happened to her. He killed her when he seduced our father to the dark side, and he turned your mother into a servant of darkness as well. He needs to answer for his crimes.”

“And he will.” Jane Kyra assured him. “But he will do it before us, two Jedis who will not give in to anger or any of his sick, twisted games.”

Luke smiled. “I love you sister. I am going to need your voice on my head for when we meet him.”

“You have it. Our minds are one, we are one. If we die, we die together.” Jane Kyra said and Luke smiled again.   
He was now sure that with the help of his sister, he could defeat the decrepit, old man who caused terror in the galaxy. _After that, she and I will dedicate our lives to rebuilding the Jedi Order. It would be something new, built from scratch_. Everyone who was interested in learning about the ways of the Force, would learn and those who wanted to become Jedi, would become Jedi. _It will be perfect_.


	47. You can't change what happened -or will happen

_"God knows what is hiding in those weak and sunken eyes  
fiery thornes of muted angels_   
_giving love but getting nothing back_   
_People, help the people ..._   
_And if you are homesick, give me your hand_   
_and I will hold it_   
_people, help the people_   
_nothing will drag you down_   
_and if I had to break_   
_I will be cold as stone and rich_   
_as the fool who turned all those good hearts away."_   
**_~Hard-faced queens and muted angels by Birdy_ **

_"Don't trust anybody. Life is safer that way."_   
**~Shae in GOT, Season 2.**   


“Unique in the Seven Kingdoms in the Night’s Watch, the sworn brotherhood that has defended the wall over centuries and millennia, born and in the aftermath of the Long Night, the generation-long winter that brought the Others down on the realms of men and nearly put an end to them.” Ben read from his copy of the Untold History of the Seven kingdoms and beyond that his father had given to him on his third birthday, a week ago, to his mother. He was happy to see her. He told her how much he missed and wanted to spend time with her but he was grateful he got to spend time with Bella and her boyfriend, Anakin and hear all about their stories from the time of the Old Republic.

“I am happy you had a good time too mi amor. Did you eat something on the way here?” Ben nodded. He took an unwrapped granola bar from his pocket. “You have to stay with Bella a little longer. Me and my friends have some important things to do.”

“Okay, but you will come back?” Ben asked. He told Bella of the dreams he’d been having. They started after his third birthday. She seemed to know what they were because she confessed on having them too. Anakin said that ‘bad dreams pass in time’ but he wasn’t sure these would go anytime soon.

“I promise. Stay with Bella, ok?” Ben nodded and went back to Bella and Anakin.

“Anakin, why didn’t you want to tell me about your scar?” He asked him after they finished playing cards.

Anakin was happy that he learned quick and with his inquisitive nature but this was a question he couldn’t easily answer.

“It has a dark history. It is very complicated.”

“I am smart. Bella says that I am. I will understand.”

Anakin chuckled. He told him, keeping the story as simple as he could, leaving out all the complicated and (more) painful details.

“Did it hurt a lot?”

“A little, after a while the pain passed.”

“I will go for a hot drink from the mess hall.” Mary said, sensing her father’s presence nearby.

Anakin and Ben played a while longer then Ben got tired and Anakin put him to bed. Mary could sleep with him today, he would settle in the couch. _I am used to hard places anyway_.

After he did that, he turned to see the ghost of his old mentor. “Why have you come here for this time, Obi Wan?”

“Anakin, Yoda has died.”

Anakin nodded. The death of the last of the old Jedi Order brought little comfort to him. He had dreamed of destroying the Jedi for what they’d done to him, Ashoka and countless others. Hearing that the last of their kind had died however, no longer brought feelings of mirth he had experienced when he stormed the Jedi Temple.

“Luke and Jane Kyra must be taking it hard. Where they there when he died?” He asked, knowing that his son and daughter had gone to Dagobah to see their dying master.

“Yes, but that is not the only reason why I am here. You have probably heard from my daughter’s lips, her nightmares.” Anakin nodded again. “They are not all nightmares. Not like yours. I am afraid something terrible will come if the Emperor succeeds in his mission to rule the galaxy.”

“He already rules the galaxy. What have you seen Obi Wan? You wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t felt a disturbance in the Force. What is it? Who will harm her?” Anakin said, dead serious. He was not going to stand for the same margin of error like he did before. He had come to terms with Padme’s death, and learned to accept the hand he’d been dealt with, but Mary was a different case. She had been through so much already, she didn’t deserve to suffer more.

Obi Wan sighed. Despite the Jedi’s youthful appearance, his expression made him look as old as the day he died. “All I can say is that sometimes dead is better.”

“No. I am not going to stand for that excuse. I lost Padme, I am not going to lose Mary.”

“This is not just about you and Mary, Anakin. This is about your children, Luke, Jane Kyra, Leia, and Marion and hers and their descendants. You have felt the same disturbance in the Force when Jon showed you the footage of what the Emperor’s scientists were doing on Jakku, you know something sinister is on its way and when it comes, the only person able to stop it will be the chosen one, that is you.”

“I never asked for this responsibility. I do not want it.”

“That is not up to you. The Force has chosen you to deliver the galaxy from evil.”

“You can tell the Force to go to hell. I make my own destiny and I promise you, I will not let anything come between me and your daughter, and that also includes Sidious and whatever this force is. Nothing and no one will harm her.”

“Anakin, I am sorry, I really am. I wish I could be of more help but my vision as yours is limited, yet I have seen some things and all I can say is the same, sometimes dead is better. Remember what Master Yoda said, we must learn to accept when our loved ones have left this world and rejoice in our memories of them.” He said and before Anakin could respond, he vanished.

 _Foolish old man._ Anakin thought. He turned around and looked down at Ben, sleeping soundly on his and Mary’s bed. He was not going to let anything evil come to him nor Mary.

* * *

“Did you talk with Anakin again? Let me guess, he didn’t want to listen to reason.” Anne Boleyn asked the Jedi ghost. Obi Wan didn’t have to reply, Anne already knew the answer to that. She was on the bar of the mega-ship. It was nearly deserted. Elizabeth and the ‘unholy Imperial trio’ as the rebels called them, Lya, Ned and Owen were there, on the other side on a table.

Anne preferred to be at the bar. She wasn’t much for good manners now. Not after what she’d seen. “I told you it would be useless. Catherine was right about him all along. So was I.”

“Master Yoda always said that I was unprepared until Anakin got an apprentice of his own. Anakin was a good friend, a good Jedi and a good pilot.”

Anne snorted at that. “You and Catherine are too hard on him. I was as well and you know why. I didn’t want him to make the same mistakes I did but in doing so I pushed him in the wrong direction.”

“It wasn’t your fault, any more than it was Catherine’s fault for how Mary turned up, or Bella or whatever. I can’t keep up with this nonsense.”

“It is her fault as it is mine.” Obi Wan said, surprising Anne. His tone was sadder than any she had ever heard come from him. “Mary and Anakin made their choices but so did we and we are partly responsible with how they turned up. Master Yoda knew the minute I asked to be Anakin’s master after my own died. I took it upon myself to train Anakin in the ways of the Jedi. My mistake was thinking I could be as good a teacher as Yoda. I was not. Such was my foolish pride. The Emperor sensed Anakin’s power, and he lured him to the dark side.” He paused and looked directly into Anne’s eyes. “My pride had terrible consequences for the galaxy, and so did my negligence. After Catherine confirmed my suspicions I was scared and I told Catherine that I couldn’t be my father, that I was meant to be a Jedi as she was meant to be a Queen and after Anakin turned twelve, after I lost Siri, I told her that I was ready and she told me ‘No.’ It wasn’t out of revenge or resentment. She just said ‘no’, because she was deeply convinced as I was back then, that it was her destiny to be Queen and her daughter to be England’s first Queen.”

Anne was surprised.

“Catherine and I are not solely responsible for what happened to Mary and Anakin, but we could have done better.”

"My father used to say that people don't change. That they just adapt but what is at the core of their souls stay the same. At their worst, they reveal who they really are. You could have done thing to save them. I don't condone what Catherine has done to Mary, but your daughter did a lot of terrible things and Catherine was just acting on the most human emotion of all: love. When Mary switched over to the Empire, it was a slap in the face to everything you and her had worked for. I love Elizabeth but if she ever did the things your daughter did to me, I would feel the same way."

"No you would not." Obi Wan said. "Because Bess had the good fortune of having Mary when you died, and then you again."

"You blame yourself too much for what has happened."

"It is not only that I blame myself for. I have seen things ... things to come and I fear what Anakin will do if he doesn't learn to let go."

"I am with Anakin there." Anne said pouring herself more wine into her cup. "You cannot tell someone to let go.  When a person dies, he is bound to feel sad, angry. It is only natural."

"That might be the case with you or me, but not with Anakin. He is the chosen one, it is his destiny to bring balance."

"Maybe the Force should re-examine its priorities." Anne said then asked: "What is it that you have seen?"

Obi Wan wanted to tell him, but he was afraid of what she would do if he did. I can't risk it. 

"You can trust me with the truth."

"It is not you I fear, it is what Anakin will do. All I can say is that something terrible is coming and that it will rely on Anakin to do the unthinkable." 

After he disappeared, Anne drank what was left of her goblet and turned to Elizabeth and the unholy Imperial trio. They all looked happy. She wished that they could stay that way forever, but if what Obi Wan told her was true, then it wouldn't last.

* * *

 

Jane Kyra and Luke stayed in Yoda's hut for another night, comforting one another. Luke was the first one to open his eyes. His sister had his back turned to him. She looks so beautiful. Why wouldn't she be honest with him though? Weren't they supposed to tell each other everything? They were one mind, one being. But she had been acting so strange lately, it was as if he no longer formed part of the equation.

I must get out of here. He put on a new set of clothes and got out of the hut. Obi Wan appeared to him. "Yoda is dead."

"I know but he will always be with you." Obi Wan said. "Jane Kyra is still asleep?" Luke nodded. "Good. Luke, you and Jane Kyra need to stick together if you want to defeat the Emperor. You two and your father."

"It is not that easy Ben. My sister hardly talks to me. She has been having these visions and she doesn't want to tell me what they were. I know you feel a disturbance in the Force Ben, you must know what these are."

"Luke I am sorry I did not tell you and Jane Kyra the truth sooner. I should have but I was afraid and I fear what you will do if I tell you what she has been dreaming of."

"Can you at least tell me if it has to do with what Kinvara said when we were on Tatooine?"

"What Kinvara told you has something to do with it, but there is more and you should be careful Luke. Teach others what you have learned. Do not be proud, do not make the same mistakes your father and I did. Be better." Obi Wan stressed.

"I cannot make promises for things I do not know but I can tell you that I will try my best."

"Do or do not. There is no try." Obi Wan said, echoing what Yoda had told Luke and Jane Kyra years before when their training had started.

Luke smirked then looked down at his own mechanical right hand. "I had help of my friends before. I've made more friends along the way, yet I feel more alone."

"Life is full of disappointments, and when you are young and have seen too much and lost too much, you feel that way. It is normal." Obi Wan said.

Luke sensed the underlying meaning in Kenobi's statement. "I can't do it alone. I need her to talk to me. I am her brother."

"You will always be her brother, that won't change but she has been through so much as well and she experiences grief different than you. Her mother's necklace helped her get her memories' back, but it was also thanks to her ancestry. She descends from red priests and what she did not inherit, Jane did and it is not something anyone can handle. You must be patient with her." Obi Wan said. Luke nodded. Then Obi Wan added: "To be a Jedi, Luke, you must confront and then go beyond the dark side -the side your father hasn't been able to get past. Impatience is the easiest door -for you, like your father. Only, your father was seduced by what he found on the other side of the door, and you have held firm. You are no longer so reckless now, Luke. Neither is your sister. You and Jane have become more than symbols for the rebellion, you are the embodiment of virtue, strength and honor. And you two are ready for your final confrontation."

Luke shook his head. "I am not sure if I can do it Ben."

"You must or the Emperor will have won. You and Jane Kyra are our only hope."

"Yoda said that I must pass down the knowledge Jane and I have acquired but I sense doubt in my sister. Whenever I speak of the new Jedi Order she turns away as if she doesn't want to talk about it."

"She will come around. She knows how important this is, and you are her brother. She will always be there to support you. Trust in her Luke, do not let feelings of doubt and jealousy cloud your head. Those are pathways to the dark side and once you give in, there will be no turning back. Bur your feelings deep down, Luke. They do you credit, but they could be made to serve the Emperor."

Luke considered what he said and decided that he would do as Obi Wan suggested. _He has never failed m_ e. He hadn't told him and Jane the truth -for a reason. _A very good reason._ His mind reminded. Despite his anger at his old mentor for having kept the truth about their parentage secret, Luke couldn't shake away the gratitude he felt deep down for everything he and the Spanish Princess had done for them. And there was more to Luke's reasoning. He didn't want to turn like his father, or worse, for his sister to go down the same path her mother. It wouldn't be fair to their friends, and the countless others that counted on them.  
 _We have a responsibility to this galaxy, and by the Force, we will not forsake it the way our father did._

 


	48. Where our loyalties lie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As our heroes set their priorities in order, their foes begin to question their loyalties, while the Emperor ponders on his visions and is confident that the end of the rebellion is near ...  
> Song: Everybody wants to rule the world by Lorde.

_“Welcome to your life, there is no turning back_  
even while we sleep,  
you will find yourself acting on your best behavior  
turn back on mother nature  
everyone wants to rule the world  
there is a room where the light won’t find you  
holding hands while he walls come tumbling down  
when they do, I’ll be right behind you  
so glad we’ve almost made it  
so sad they had to fade it  
everybody wants to rule the world.”  
**~Everybody wants to rule the world by Lorde**

“What’s wrong Bella?” Ben asked his friend.

“Nothing.” Mary answered him, hating that he had to call her Bella still. “Would you like me to bring you something from the mess hall?” Ben shook his head.

“Why does Anakin always turn his head the other direction when I ask him about how his mother die? Is it because it makes him sad?”

“Yes. You are a very smart and intuitive boy. Anakin was very close to his mother and when he lost her, he felt a big part of him died.” She said, trying her best to explain it to her three year old son.

Ben advanced to Bella who was seated on the floor in front of him and sitting down again, he placed his hand on her lap. “I am sorry. I am here now so he doesn’t feel lonely anymore and you are here too.”

“Yes, we both are. He loves playing with you as I love spending time with you.”

“We are best friends, right Bella?”

“Yes, we are.” Mary said giving him a genuine smile. She smiled genuinely whenever she was with him or Anakin, or with both.

Anakin looked at them, standing at the door. It seemed surreal that what Obi Wan spoke, or what Mary had dreamed could become true. \

* * *

Unbeknownst to him, Jane Kyra had seen more than what her mother and grandfather saw, and it was the sole reason why she had decided to spend less nights with her brother.

She reasoned _after my brother marries Carina and we resurrect the Jedi Temple, we can go our separate ways._ He would stay in the Temple and she would head back to Tatooine and spend the remainder of her years building schools for the poor, and helping people rise from poverty.

As she put on her clothes, she met Luke outside of Yoda’s hut. He told her what her grandfather said ending with “He said that there is no way of avoiding the upcoming battle, and we cannot escape our destiny. It is our fate to defeat the Emperor along with our father.”

“Maybe we can change it.” Jane Kyra offered.

“You know how the Force works Jane, we can’t escape it any more than we can escape our bond. You and me, we are bound by fate. It was decided since before we are born.”

“Says who? The Force? Luke, I hate the Emperor as much as you do and I will help you and father defeat the Emperor but after that, I want to do more. Help people, there is so much of what we have learned that we can teach others.”

“Exactly, when we have rebuilt the Jedi Order, we will teach everything we have learned to a new generation of Jedi who will protect the galaxy from all evil and then when we have finally achieved peace, you and I can go back on exploring the galaxy just like we always wanted.” Jane Kyra wasn’t sure. Luke sensed her discomfort. “Isn’t that what you always wanted?”

“Yes.” Jane Kyra said, nodding her head, giving him a small smile. It was no use arguing with him. His mind was made up and who was she to deny what was in his heart, or in their fates? She thought the last part with sadness.

 _Is this truly my fate_? To be with Luke forever. She would give her life for her brother, go to the ends of the galaxy to keep him safe. _Silly me for thinking I could cheat fate._ She got on her X-Wing and just after Luke set off, she set off as well.

* * *

As the ghost of Owen Lars watched his niece and nephew fly off into space, back to the rebel base, he thought to _himself ‘You can still cheat fate Jane.’_ “You do not have to subject yourself to the fate your brother has decided for you. It is not your fate if you do not want it to be.”

Just like his mother, she was going to resign herself to a miserable life. That brought him immense sadness. _Maybe it is the fate of all the women in my family_.

* * *

Anakin stepped out of the bar, returning to his shared bedroom with Mary. She had fallen asleep with her son. Off to the couch again. As he took a blanket from the chair next to the bed, he thought of him and his mother. When he was a four-year-old child, his mother read to him all kinds of stories. Prior to her enslavement, she had been the daughter of a well-to-do-merchant. He had heard and see much of the known galaxy and through his experiences, she fed her son all kinds of stories. His favorite ones were the ones from Earth and the ones pertaining to the Jedi from the times of the old Republic.

One of the former had to do with a Targaryen Queen who -had it not been for her gender- she would have ruled the Seven Kingdoms and beyond. But after the Old Republic, the Jedi and her Earth allies had withdrawn their support from her, she was eaten by her nephew’s dragon. It was said that she whispered before she died **_“Were it not if I was a man, would I have suffered such pains?”_** She won -according to his mother. Her son got to be King. _“But at what cost?”_ He asked her. _“If she had been born a man in a planet where women are second to nothing, she would have had everything. It is not fair she got such raw deal.”_ He told her. But his mother who always had an answer to everything, told him: _“Life is not fair Ani.”  
_ It should be. He thought even then. Life should not be faired so unfairly by those who suffer the most just because they are born into the wrong family, or with nothing, or in the wrong sex.

The second one had to do with one of the so called ‘Red Queens’ of the Maya city-states. A woman who although not being a queen regnant, wielded great power and influence long after her consort had died. She was called Lady Xoc by travelers and according to some spice freighters, she could see into the future. “ _Could she really?”_ He asked his mother. His mother nodded, saying that her father had heard it from his great-grandfather who heard it from his great-grandfather who met her. _“That is amazing! What did she see? Did he tell you?”_ Sadly, he hadn’t, his mother told him. But she told him that according to many, she foresaw her own death and her empire’s downfall.  
Lastly of the Earth stories, was the one where a woman was captured by a group of Tartar raiders who sold her into the Sultan’s harem. She was called Alexandre but called Roxelanna as a way of mockery. _“Why make fun of her?”_ He asked, confused as to how this could be an insult. His mother responded with a simple explanation and translation of what the name meant. _“Russian Alexandra. She was Russian and to the Emperor’s chief wife and his mother, her red hair, blue eyes were a source of mockery. And she was a slave Ani, and slaves are always mocked.”  
“But she didn’t stay a slave?”  
“No. She rose to the highest ranks as not just chief wife, but the official wife of the Sultan. The Sultan you see was not married to his chief wife though she was called his chief wife as a way of courtesy.”  
“What does courtesy mean?”  
“It means being nice.”_ His mother explained. _“But after she converted to the Sultan’s religion, she married him and the marriage was officiated by one of his clerics, so she now stood higher than any woman and some said than any of his friends.”_  
Anakin was in awe of that story because a slave, a woman who had been taken from her family -like his mother- had risen to the highest position (after the Sultan) in her captive land.

Then there were the Jedi stories. His favorite used to be the ones where the Jedi defeated the evil Sith Lord who was in reality a woman, Darth Revan. She was as powerful as she was clever and deceptive. Slept with many men and women, and hermaphrodite beings, and killed many of them when they no longer suited her interests. She was one of the most ruthless foes the Jedi Order ever encountered and she met a tragic ending at the hand of one of her lovers who happened to be a Jedi.

As a boy Anakin used to despise her, now he admired her and identified with her and even more with the Russian Alexandra who became the most powerful woman in her captive kingdom.

“I used to be a slave too.” Anakin said to himself as he lied with his back against the soft cushions, the blanket on top of him. “What I would give to be free.”

 _You will always be a slave._ His conscience was right. _Once a slave, always a slave Anakin._

First in all, including name, then to the Jedi Order, and lastly to the Emperor and the Sith. He wanted nothing more to be free. Live freely, he envisioned, with Mary and her son.

* * *

 

Arthur was conducting the last inspection to the death star. “It won’t be finished in a month or two, but we are now fully operational, I can say that with certainty.”

“How soon can we conduct a test?” Arthur asked General Jer-Jerrod.

The general shrugged. “Two, more maybe three more days. It depends when the Rebellion sends us our first volunteers.” He said with a cold chuckle.

“Do not laugh General. The first death star was destroyed because we underestimate it the Rebellion.”

“Yes, sir. It won’t happen again, Grand Moff Targaryen.”

Jon chastised him. “See to it that it doesn’t. The Emperor is not as merciful as Lord Arthur or me.”

The General gulped. Jon and Arthur left him there to add the last touches to the power-department.

As Jon and Arthur got on the elevator, Arthur asked Jon. “You are not having second thoughts are you?”

“Me? No. You?”

“No. Although come to think of it, I find it very hard to deny feeling excited at the thought of choking your friend’s beloved whore with my bare hands.”

Jon shook his head.

“He is not my friend anymore.”

“I find that hard to believe. You know, as bad as my father was, he did have a few good sayings. One of them was ‘you can never judge a man by what he says, instead judge him by what he does and feels.’ I don’t pretend to know what a man hides, but I have come to know and distrust people in my second life, and I can tell by the way your nostrils flare every time the Emperor speaks of killing Anakin, that you still feel strongly about him.”

“That’s a good saying. Anakin was an important part of my life. We knew each other before we joined the Empire. He knew me as Jon Snow, bastard of Winterfell and Lord Commander” before they slayed me -he left unsaid. “and I before he was Lord Vader. I don’t think nobody understood him more than I did.”

“Pity, Mary never got the memo. I should have taken that collar off her when I had the chance but I saw the way my father’s people respected him when he created the yeomen of the guard and had everyone, including his lowest servants, dressed in their best finery. I couldn’t risk my son being handled by someone so pathetically-looking.”

“That is where you and I differ. While my wife would have approved, she has a strong distaste for excess, while I prefer actions over vanity.”

“So do I, but a little vanity never heard anybody. My father was constantly mocked by my mother for looking like a monk, yet he spent more on clothes than my grandfather who was well known for his extravagance in Christendom.” Arthur said, remembering how his mother would grumble underneath her breath every time he passed. _The sole reason why I will enjoy wringing my hands around her reincarnated ancestress’ very neck._ The thought of having the ghosts of his mother and grandmother and great-grandmother begging him not to, made him happy. It was a shame that his father would not enjoy it. Proves that for all her flaws, his mother was right when it came to him father being his mother’s son. _Weak, fanatic and nothing without a woman to govern for him._

“He wasn’t much of a dresser then.” Jon said with some humor. Arthur laughed, giving a quick nod.

“People said that he spent too much for nothing. Women didn’t dare to throw themselves at him because they were scared. Some said it was because they were intimidated by his mother who kept him in check, but in truth they were intimidated by him. My father wasn’t a pleasant man to be around.” He gave another chuckle. “Some of my servants used to say the same thing of our boys.”

“I am surprised, and relieved it was not only Ned. Ned has always been difficult. He was pushed to the limits by his mother, even more by his grandmother who’d chastise him every time he shed a tear. ‘You are a Stark and a Targaryen. Your ancestors never cried, why should you?’ Mary Tudor was always high and mighty but at least she loved your son, and you loved him. He had that. I can’t say that about Ned.”

“If I were a lesser man I would pity him, instead I empathize with him.” Jon turned to him. “My father was the same way. He would tell me, quit crying, you are a Tudor. Descendant of the Plantagenets. Act like it.” Arthur then added, “Then he would order my tutor to beat up my servant. A whipping boy, we had them back in England.”

“Yes, I know all about them. We had them in Westeros too. Winterfell stopped the practice after my father became Warden of the North.”

“We are not so dissimilar after all.” Arthur said. “My mother would not speak a word except when it had to do with my brother. He was her suns and stars. When my father found out he’d beaten a boy to a pulp and threatened to hit him with a rod, my mother said not to or else she’d tell everyone that she was not a maiden when she came to him, invalidating their union.”

“Your mother and my mother-in-law would have liked each other very well.”

Arthur nodded, smirking.

When they got out of the elevator, Arthur asked Jon if he’d be ready to kill his friend when the time came.

Jon didn’t reply right away. His immediate reaction was to say ‘yes’. It would be the answer he’d give any other soldier, but Arthur wasn’t just another soldier. As strange as it sounded, he was the closest thing he had, besides Vader, to a friend. And given their offspring had wed each other and his daughter was pregnant with their grandchild, he was the only he could trust with the truth.

“If that is what the Emperor demands of me, I will but it won’t be easy. I know where my loyalties lie but that doesn’t make doing what I should do any easier.”

“Spoken like a true soldier. A true leader. The Admirals that look to Vader should look to you instead.”

“I am a soldier, not a leaser. You said so yourself. I am bound by duty not by ambition. That is not my thing.”

“Pity, you’d be better than this whole lot.” Arthur commented as they came closer to the Emperor’s throne room, flanked outside by his Imperial red guards.

* * *

Leia and Marion got on one of the shuttles on course for the Rebellion’s main flagship where Mon was at. She offered Sir Thomas and the former queen, Jane Seymour a ride but they refused. Out of courtesy, their sister-in-law said it was because they wanted to spend more time with their family.

 _Yeah, right._ Leia knew it was more than that. Han promised he’d see her there. _“My old man is not a good driver as I am. Trust me, the meeting will get postponed if I don’t pilot their hunk of junk.”_

Travel aboard the _Huxley_ was smooth. Their only regret was that their spouses weren’t with them. Besides Han, Doreah had gone on a separate ship. With their father, Mary and her son of all people!   
She and Marion spent their time playing chess. “It is a pointless game.”

“Funny. You didn’t think that when you beat me at my mother’s house.”

“I had more time to practice, and your mother was always kind enough to let us play in the meadows. Here, there is nothing but staring at empty space and waiting for days on end to reach our destination.”

“It can always be worse. The Empire isn’t tracking us, we should feel lucky for that.” Marion said moving her queen one step ahead, forcing Leia to move her king in another direction where he’d be protected by her bishop and tower.

After they stopped playing, Leia asked her sister, “Are you really going to have Oberyn’s baby?”

“I never thought you’d be the first of us to become a mother. Then again, I never thought either of us would be married.”

“Surely you must have dreamed about your wedding. I know I did.” Leia shook her head. Marion sighed. “My mother’s married life was anything but perfect but her last husband was a good man to her and I thought if I ever meet someone as kind as Tommen was, I’d live happily ever after for the rest of my life.”

“Doreah is not Tommen Baratheon. But I get your point. Marriage was never something I aspired. I’d look at the others dreaming the same as you and think ‘is that what I really want?’ and then I became involved with the rebellion to be preoccupied with that.”

“Good thing things didn’t turn too bad for us.” Marion said with a naughty smile.

“How is it you can always be so calm in situations like this?”

“I am my mother’s daughter, and Cersei and Lady Olenna trained me well. We only live once, so we must make the most of it when we can, especially in our position.”

Leia did not contradict her there. Back in the day when their real mothers had lived under the Republic and the Emperor was Chancellor, people went about their lives without a care in the world for what came next. The governments weren’t perfect. Famine, plague were on everyone’s lists of concerns, the Jedi Knighthood that protected over the thousands of systems in the galaxy, did not look over “lesser life-forms” as they called them and those included those on Earth where tyrannical dictators made it impossible for anyone to live fulfilling lives.  
Marion’s mother was one of the first to fall for the Empire’s false promises. Although Leia suspected it had to do more with revenge. Seeing Vader mourn the loss of his ‘true wife’, as well as the entire galaxy making her into a near-saint, drove her mad.  
Pity, if it weren’t for that woman’s self-absorbed nature, she would have realized she and Padme Amidala had more in common. Now thanks to her actions, the Naberries could not bear the thought of sharing a galaxy with her and her offspring, and that included her youngest, Ben Tudor. Although they put up with Marion -and to a certain extent Jane Kyra- because she was close to Leia, they couldn’t tolerate the idea of the two others, living in pure bliss and getting the happy ending when their own daughter never got to raise her children. And worse still, next to the man that was once their son-in-law.

Too much had been spent on hatred and vengeance. She understood their reasons and wasn’t against them feeling that; but it would be more beneficial to everyone if they put those feelings to something more productive, instead of wasting everyone’s time with their family drama.

* * *

The Emperor sat, regarding his view. It had been days since he arrived on the second Death Star. It was near completion but fully operational. Soon, the last of the rebels would be destroyed and at last, the galaxy would be at peace.

The Empire was what the old republic could never have been. Plagued by bureaucracy, corruption had set in. A few greedy senators had started the chain reaction of malaise, some said; but who could know? Palpatine, or rather the Emperor as he was known now, did. It was the Jedi, with the help of self-serving politicians who only cared to maintain their own power. After centuries of being praised by lesser life-forms, they forgot all about their oaths and the people they swore to protect and represent.

The Earth was the first planet to fall into his power. So many at the bottom were hungry to kill their corrupt fat Catholic priests, the hypocritical sanctimonious Protestants, the fake sons of heavens, god-emperors of the East, and the cannibalistic death priests of the Americas. With the death of their monarchs, and the execution of many of their priests, their victims rose into positions of power they could only have dreamed of when they had been ruled by their godly lords. Unlike their predecessors, their new regents, Lady Sansa and Lord Jon Targaryen, were wise enough to know that their power depended on effort rather than some higher power.

The Emperor hoped that the latter wouldn’t be foolish enough to throw everything he’d built for himself and his family away for his old friend.

He rose and perused more of his view. An endless sea of stars.

The Targaryens were too passionate. That was the reason for their downfall. Believing in old prophecies, discarding their kingdom’s well-being for their own, and risking everything for love. No doubt, Jon feels too much like his father, the dragon prince, Rhaegar. Fool, he will throw everything away and be his family’s ruin. It was a good thing though, that the Emperor still had an important ace under his sleeve. His daughter was pregnant with lord Arthur’s son’s offspring and that ensured his loyalty. Any feelings either of them have against me, will be terminated once I remind them that their grandchild’s life is in my hands.

The rebellion would fall. He had seen it. And when that happened, he would turn the sun twins to his cause, making them their new apprentices and later his enforces, filling the gap their father had left and lastly the Targaryen siblings would return to their fathers’ custody and their grandchild be trained alongside Luke and Jane Kyra.

* * *

In a remote and midnight vacuum beyond the edge of the galaxy, the vast Rebel fleet stretched, from its vanguard to its rear echelon, past the range of human vision. Corellian battle ships, cruisers, destroyers, carriers, bombers, Sullustian cargo freighters, Calamarian tankers, Alderanian gunships, Kesselian blockade runners, Bestinian skyhoppers, X-wing, Y-wing, and A-wing fighters, shuttles, transport vehicles, manowars. Every Rebel in the galaxy, soldier and civilian alike, waited tensely in these ships for instructions. They were led by the largest of the Rebel Star Cruisers, the Headquarters Frigate.

Hundreds of Rebel commanders, of all species and lifeforms, assembled in the war room of the giant Star Cruiser, awaiting orders from the High Command. Rumors were everywhere, and an air of excitement spread from squadron to squadron.

At the center of the briefing room was a large, circular light-table, projected above which a holographic image of the unfinished Imperial Death Star hovered beside the Moon of Endor, whose scintillating protective deflector shield encompassed them both.

Mon Mothma entered the room. After her were none other than the Seymour siblings, Sir Thomas and the former Queen, their sister-in-law, and the other former queens, Anne Boleyn and Catherine of Aragon. They were all symbols of a bygone era. Mon wore the trademark white robes with gold braiding that she was known for in the days of being a senator of the Old Republic. Her severity was not without cause -for she had been an elected member of the Rebel Alliance, mentor to its most celebrated leaders, Marion and Leia, and widely respected by everyone, including some of her enemies.

The former queens also had a severity to their features that rivaled almost hers, except for Jane Seymour. Her face was unreadable as when she had been lady-in-waiting to both queens, and then when she had been royal consort herself. The woman had seen her fair share of horrors and unlike most, she had not felt the temptation of the dark side, or given into to her darkest desires. She was as her motto ‘bound to obey and serve’. Just who though, was the question that was on everyone’s minds.

All of them had organized cells and trained a new generation of soldiers, and young volunteers. Sir Thomas taught them, as did Admiral Ackbar who had been a cadet in the times of the old republic, of honor, duty.  Anne and Jane meanwhile told them stories about their times as queens, and the stories of their ancestors -to those who were from earth and were unaware of their ancestry -which had been erased by the empire.

There had been other leaders. Their friends and allies. Some of them, people who had infiltrated the ranks of the Empire and who pretended to be loyal servants of the Empire, but many of them were killed when they were discovered. One of them had been Thomas and Jane’s brother, Edward. He had been a cunning warrior and greedy politician but after seeing his sister’s nephew killed, his brother-in-law tortured by his cloned brother, and many others brutally murdered, he became part of the rebellion and swore he would fight for them in the end using the same deception and trickery for what he was known for in his days of the Tudor court to help them achieve their goal. Just when he and his wife and family were about to escape and hand over important plans to the rebellion, they were discovered, captured and tortured and later killed.  
This was a little after Thomas found his bastard son in the streets of Corellia. Thomas had managed to bribe one of the Imperial guards to give him one of his brother’s prized possessions. It was a family portrait of all of them when they were children with their parents, the late Margery Wentworth and Sir John Seymour. Thomas swore then that he would fight harder than anyone else.  Mastering new technologies and working with his sister to protect their remaining family, was nothing compared with dealing with his wayward son though.  
Han had thrown everything away for that royal girl. _What an idiot._ But that idiot was his son and he wasn’t going to let anything happen to him. He would protect him from everyone, including his two-faced wife and her screwed up family.

Han joined Leia, Marion and Doreah in the front row seat, not wishing to look like a stuck up next to the high and mighty ones, including his father.

Mon and her colleagues traversed the room, to the holographic display where they conferred with their chief advisers, General Madine and Admiral Ackbar. Madine was Corellian -tough, resourceful 0if a bit of a martinet. Han got along him well because they shared the same home-planet and he understood sometimes you had to forget about the rules when you were fighting sanctimonious thugs and their amoral leader. Ackbar in contrast was pure Calamarian -a gentle, salmon0colored creature, with huge, sad yes set in a high-domed head, and webbed hands that made him more at home in water or free space than on board a ship. But if the humans were the arm of the rebellion, the Calamarians were the soul -which isn’t to say they couldn’t fight with the best, when pushed to the limit. And the evil Empire had reached that limit.

Lando Calrissian made his way through the crowd, now, scanning faces. He saw Wedge, who was to be his wing pilot-they nodded at each other, gave the thumbs-up sign; but then Lando moved on. Wedge wasn’t the one he was looking for. He made ti to clearing near the ceneter, peered around, finally saw his friends seated in the front row. He smiled and wandered over.

Han, Chewie, Leia, Marion and Doreah, and the two droids greeted Lando’s appearance with a cacophony of cheers, laughs, beeps, and barks.

“Well, look at you,” Solo chided, straightening the lapel of Calrissian’s new unifrorm and pulling on the insignias: “A general!”

Lando laughed affectionately. “I’m a man of many faces and many costumes. Someone must have told them about my little maneuver at the battle of Taanab.” Taanab was an agrarian planet raided seasonally by bandits from Norulac. Calrissian -before his stint as governor of Cloud City -had wiped out the bandits against all odds, using legendary flying and unheard of strategies. And he’d done it on a bet.

Han opened his eyes wide with sarcasm. “Hey, don’t look at me. I just told them you were a ‘fair’ pilot. I had no idea they were looking for someone to lead this crazy attack.”

“That’s all right, I asked for it. I want to lead this attack.” For one thing, he like ddressing up like a general. People gave him the respect he deserved, and he didn’t have to give up flying circles around some pompous Imperial military policeman. And that was the other thing -he was finally going to stick it to this Imperial navy, stick it so it hurt, for all the times he’d been stuck. Stick it and leave his signature on it. _General_ Calrissian, thank you.

Solo looked at his old friend, admiration combining with disbelief. “Have you ever seen one of those Death Stars? UYou’re in for a very short generalship, old buddy.”

“I’m surprised they didn’t ask you to do it.” Lando smiled.

“Maybe they did,” Han intimated. “But I’m not crazy. You’re the respectable one, remember? Baron-Administrator of the Bespin Cloud City?”

Leia moved closer to Solo and took his arm protectively. “Han is going to stay on the command ship with me … we’re both very grateful for what you’re doing, Lando. And proud.”

“How about you?” Lando asked her sister, whose wife had her arm around her. She didn’t look any more grateful than Leia, her bearing did look more regal though and her smile was a genuine one that Lando had not seen on her before.

“I am grateful enough.”

“Ah, short as always.”

“I am truly happy that the Empire took on Han’s recommendation. You are a good leader Calrissian. Anyone who uphold his vows to protect his citizens -even if that means selling his soul to the devil, is worthy of respect in my book.” She said. “Besides, you warned them about the Imperial presence, saving hundreds of lives, after you helped me, Leia and Chewie escape along with our siblings.”

Suddenly, at the center of the room, Mon Mothma signaled for attention. The room fell silent. Anticipation was keen.

“The data brought to us by the Bothan spies have been confirmed,” Mon said. “The Emperor has made a  critical error, and the time for our attack has come.”

This caused a great stir in the room. As if her message had been a valve letting off pressure, the air hissed with comment. She turned to the hologram of the Death Star, and went on. “We now have the exact location of the Emperor’s new battle station. The weapon systems on this Death Star are not yet operational. With the Imperial fleet spread throughout the galaxy in a vain effort to engage us, it is relatively unprotected.” She paused here, to let her next statement register its full effect. “Most important, we have learned the Emperor himself is personally overseeing the construction.”

A volley of spirited chatter erupted from the assembly. This was it. The chance. The hope no one could hope to hope for. A shot at the Emperor.

Mon Mothma continued then let Jane Seymour resume when all the hubbub died down slightly. “The Emperor’s trip was undertaken with the utmost secret which can only mean he knows of his battle station’s weakness and is looking for someone to blame. But he underestimated our spy network. Many Bothans died to bring us this information.” Her voice turned sorrowful while her eyes were stern as her colleagues, to remind those present of the price of this enterprise.

Admiral Ackbar stepped forward. His specialty was Imperial defense procedures. He raised his fin and pointed at the holographic model of the force field emanating from Endor. “Although uncompleted, the Death Star is not entirely without a defense mechanism,” he instructed in shooting Calamarian tones. “It is protected by an energy shield which is generated by the nearby Moon of Endor, here. No ship can fly through it, no weapon can penetrate it.” He stopped for a long moment. He wanted the information to sink in. When he thought it had, he spoke more slowly. “The shield must be deactivated if any attack is to be attempted. Once the shield is down, the cruisers will create a perimeter while the fighters fly into the superstructure, here … and attempt to hit the main reactor …” He pointed to the unfinished portion of the Death Star “… somewhere in here.”

Another murmur swept over the room of commanders, like a swell in a heavy sea.

Ackbar concluded. “General Calrissian will lead the fighter attack.”

Han turned to Lando, his doubts gilded with respect. “Good luck, buddy.”

“Thanks,” said Lando simply.

“You’re gonna need it.”

Admiral Ackbar yielded the floor to General Madine, who was in charge of covert operations. “We have acquired a small Imperial shuttle,” Madine Declared smugly “Under this guise, a strike team will land on the moon and deactivate the shield generator. The control bunker is well guarded, buta  small squad should be able to penetrate its security.”

This news stimulated another round of general chatter.

Marion turned to Doreah and said under her breath, “I wonder who they found to pull that stunt?”

Madine called out: “General Solo, is your strike team assembled?”

Leia looked up at Han, shock quickly melting to joyous admiration. She knew there was a reason she loved him =in spite of his usual crass insensitivity and oafish bravado. Beneath it all, he had a heart.

Moreover, a change had come over him since he emerged from carbonization. He wasn’t just a loner anymore, only in this for the money.

His folks had seen it too. As much as Han’s aunt hated her, he liked the new him, and commended him on his efforts to take on greater responsibilities. And while his father said very little, she could see the respect and pride in his eyes when the General called Han ‘General’.

Solo responded to Madine. “My squad is ready, sir” Han pointed with his eyes at his friends, including Doreah who was a hell of a fighter and he felt pity for the poor Imperial fools who thought they could take her on. Then there was Marion. Though she and Leia were not trained as Jedi like their siblings, they knew how to handle a blaster and they wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger. “Byt I need a command crew for the shuttle.” He looked questioningly at Chewbacca, and spoke in a lower voice. “It’s gonna be rough, old pal.” The two had been through hell and back, but this was different. This could mean the one that ended all their troubles. Chewbacca had already risked too much for him, he wanted to make sure the Wookie understood all the risks. “I don’t want to speak for you. In or out?”

Chewie shook his head with gruff love and raised his hairy paw, giving a roar of approval. He was in.

“That’s one” and looking at Doreah, Marion and Leia he added “and now there are three.”

“And I’m with you, too!” a voice was raised from the back of the room along with another that added “And me!”

They all turned their heads to see Luke and Jane Kyra standing at the top of the stairs.

Cheers went up for the last of the Jedi.

And though it wasn’t his style, Han was unable to conceal his joy. “That’s six now.” He smiled.

“How are you kid?” He asked Jane Kyra. He could see, faster than anyone, including her grandmother, Catherine of Aragon, the sadness in her eyes. More than anyone, he could relate to that sadness. For het too felt trapped and suffocated by his loved ones.

Leia and Marion then ran up to her and then Luke and took turns, hugging them warmly. They felt a connection to them, since they first met them. It was nowhere near as close as that they had to one another, but it was there and it was stronger now that the sun twins promised to join them on what they hoped would be their last endeavor -the definitive blow against the Empire.

As Leia moved to Jane, she saw something pass in her half-sibling’s eyes and asked her “What is it Jane?”

“Nothing. I’ll tell you someday,” she murmured quietly. It was distinctly not nothing, though.

“All right,” she answered, not pushing. “I’ll wait.” She wondered. _Maybe she was just dressed differently_ -that was probably it. She had begun to dress in dark clothes like their brother, but this time she had added a choker with a red jewel. It was fake unlike her mother’s but like hers, it was also the color of blood.  
Did she see a vision? _Perhaps she has and she has seen our victory at a great cost, or maybe our deaths._ No, that could not be it. Jane wasn’t as secretive as Luke. _It is probably nothing_. She is probably nervous. That had to be it.

Catherine of Aragon however did see something was amiss. But said nothing, dismissing her worries as quick as Princess Leia.

Han, Chewie, Lando, Wedge, and several others crowded around Luke and Jane Kyra forcing Leia to back away, all at once, with greetings and diverse sorts of hubbub. The assembly as a whole broke up into multiple such small groups. It was a time for last farewells and good graces.

R2 beeped a singsong little observation to a somewhat less sanguine Threepio.

“I don’t think ‘exciting’ is the right word,” the golden droid answered. Being a translator in his master program, of course, Threepio was most concerned with locating the right word to describe the present situation.

**~o~**

Mary and Anakin watched everything unfold from their hiding spot. They were upstairs, behind the glass. Ben was with them, he was unaware of the great dangers that were being discussed, or the greater ones to come. After everyone had their missions read out to them, the ‘evil Imperial trio’ made a fashionable late entrance, along with Bess and Mary Stuart. Mary’s mother’s former rival rolled her eyes and shook her head at her daughter who didn’t mind her gesture. They were going to be part of the skeleton crew that would follow the golden one under the command of General Solo to one of the moons of Endor where the Imperial base was which was in charge of generating the deflector shields on the Star Destroyers and the Death Star.

“I guess we will just stay here.” Mary said to Anakin.

“We could accompany them and be part of Ned’s skeleton crew.” She suggested.

“I wouldn’t mind being under his command.” Anakin said, having had more appreciation for Jon’s son in the past three years since their failed attempt to rescue Catherine and Mary, Bella then.

Ned had come into his own. He still resented Owen and Lya for disregarding their feelings in the past, but he had come to terms with what happened, and Bess had helped him, so he could focus his anger at his foes.

**~o~**

“You only live once.” Han whispered to Jane Kyra as everyone dispersed and headed to their respective rooms before they boarded their ships. “You sure you ok, kid?”

“I am, there is no need to worry Han.”

“I am just saying, if you ever need to talk about anything, you can trust me. I am not a complete nerf herder like your sister says.”

Jane Kyra smiled and nodded then headed to her room. Carina was waiting for Luke in his. The woman would be part of the skeleton crew that would accompany them to one of the moons of Endor. As she undressed and dressed in her battle clothes, her half-brother Owen and Lya enjoyed their last hour together before they went to their ship, while Bess and Ned joked about the dreams they had the night before with Mary Stuart telling them that she couldn’t wait to be part of the action.


	49. The Beast is Near

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As our heroes reach their destination, they find more obstacles than they would have encountered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of the dialogue is taken from the novelization of Return of the Jedi.

_“Now let me tell you this. Santanico may have killed the beast but the beast broke her.”_

**_~The Queen of Xibalba/Kate Fuller, From Dusk Till Dawn 3x02_ **

Leaving Arthur wasn’t easy, but she did it for her daughter’s sake. At least that is what she told Anne, Jane, and the rest. The truth was that Catherine did it for herself. She couldn’t bear spending another minute seeing Mary, masquerading as Bella in front of Arthur and Ben, and sneaking behind their back to see Anakin.

And then there was the rebellion. Obi Wan was right. She was Catherine of Aragon, a woman many rallied behind. No matter what she did, people would always look up to her. Even if she decided to stay and left everything to Mary, who would listen to her? People mocked her -and with just reason. Her daughter was nobody. It painted her to admit it, but it was the truth. She used to think that her daughter was the strongest person alive. Independent, wise, and not bound by sentiment like Henry.

But Obi Wan was right. He always was. Mary was not meant to be Queen. Much less a source of inspiration. She scoffed at that. Mary couldn’t even handle her own mess she called a mind. How could she expect her daughter to inspire a league of fighters who needed inspiring?

She had to go back. After she returned to the base, it was just as she expected. All they needed was a welcoming mat. Although in truth, she was happy to be back.

Seeing her grandchildren again, and hearing about Lya’s pregnancy made her happy. The only thing she regretted was that after the rebels won she would have to see her daughter leave with that man and Ben.

After everyone got prepared for their departure she along with the elders stayed behind. They’d be aboard the same ship and travel to where the fighting would take place, to make sure that their orders were followed through. Looking behind her back she saw the ghost of Obi Wan.

“What are you doing here? Do you want to admonish me? Is that it?”

“No. I want to know why you are really here Catherine. And no lies, we’ve lied to ourselves many times. Let us speak the truth for once.”

“That would be a novelty for us, wouldn’t it? If you insist ... The truth is that that I thought about what you said and you were right. I was unfair to Mary. And I stuck around with Arthur to make you miserable, so you’d know how I felt about you and Siri, and Satine but more than that, I was angry.”

She gave a sad smile. “I tried to raise a good woman. A fighter. Some who could inspire others like you’d done and be the kind of ruler my mother was. When I saw what she had become I thought ‘maybe if I reach out to her’ but when I saw what Arthur had done to her, I couldn’t bear it so I convinced myself that she was dead.”

She gave a cold laugh. “Mocking her was a great way of me to get back at you. Every time I’d see her jumping around Ben, behaving like an idiot, wearing your smile, my blood would boil. And then I saw the tapes of her and that man and I couldn’t bear it any longer. But after she called for her ‘mommy’ and ran into your arms, I realized you were right. Our daughter wasn’t meant to be a leader. She wasn’t you or me, and much less my mother.”

“She never had to be like us to be a good person. If you had seen that sooner, she would have not gone down that dark path. I wish you could open your heart to her. She needs you.”

“What good will it do? Her heart belongs to that man.”

“If it makes you feel better, you weren’t the only bad parent. I failed her too.”

“There you go again, taking everyone’s sins and making them your own. You think it makes you humble. It does not! Anakin Skywalker made his bed just as our daughter made hers when he chose the dark side over the Jedi. I don’t suppose I can ask you about the future of the latest rebellion’s enterprise?”

“I wish I could tell you that I am not supposed to tell but I can’t because I don’t know what happens.” Obi Wan said. “Master Yoda always said the future is not set in stone, but I have had visions and I have seen that Anakin’s destiny is still clouded.”

“That is not news. That man corrupts everything he touches.”

“It is different this time. I believed that Anakin was gone but his love for Mary brought him back. It can do the same again.”

“Just tell me this. Will our grandchildren live?”

“I do not know but I do sense more than one dark presence and it is not the Emperor.”

This worried Catherine. What could be worse than the Emperor? The two didn’t talk much more after that. When he left, she joined the others in the control room where they saw the monitors showing them many of their pilots assembling in the docking bay.

The Millennium Falcon was one of many ships there, getting loaded and serviced. Just beyond it sat the stolen Imperial shuttle, looking anomalous in the midst of all the Rebel X-wing fighters.

Chewie supervised the final transfer of weapons and supplies to the shuttle and oversaw the placement of the strike team. Han stood with Lando between the two ships, saying good-bye -for all they knew, forever.

“I mean it, take her!” Solo insisted, indicating the Falcon. “She’ll bring you luck. You know she’s the fastest ship in the whole fleet, now.” Han had really souped her up after winning her from Lando. She’d always been fast, but now she was much faster. And the modifications Solo added had really made the Falcon a part of him -he’d put his love and sweat into it. His spirit. So giving her to Lando now was truly Solo’s final transformation -as selfless a gift as he’d ever given.

And Lando understood. “Thanks, old buddy. I’ll take good care of her. You know I always flew her better than you did, anyway. She won’t get a scratch on her, with me at the stick.”

Solo looked warmly at the endearing rogue. “I’ve got your word -not a scratch.”

“Take off, you pirate -next thing you’ll have me putting down a security deposit.”

“See you soon, pal.”

They parted without their true feelings expressed aloud, as was the way between men of deeds in those times; each walked up the ramp into a different ship.

Han entered the cockpit of the Imperial shuttle as Luke was doing some fine-tuning on a rear navigator panel while Jane Kyra was looking to the coding. “How’s the coding going kid?”

“It is an old code. They stopped using these last year. I am amazed they still do for these new ships.”

“The Empire must be getting desperate. They probably though we were going to steal one of their tech-personnel so they can help us crack the new codes, that is what they have those guys very well guarded.” Han commented, commending her good work after she assured him that everything was in order when her brother finished his mechanical duties.

Han then sat on the pilot’s chair, Chewie growled grumpily about the design.

“Yeah, yeah, Jane thinks it too. I don’t think the Empire designed it with a Wookie in mind.”

Leia and Marion with Doreah walked in from the hold, taking their seats near Jane and Luke. “We’re all set back there.” Marion told him.

Chewie growled with approval and hit the first sequence of switches. He looked over at Han but Han was motionless, staring out the window at something. Chewie and Leia followed his gaze to the Falcon.

Leia gently nudged the pilot. “Hey, you awake up there?”

“I just got a funny feeling,” Han mused. “Like I’m not going to see her again.” He thought of the times she’d save him with her speed, of the times he’d saved her with his cunning, or his touch. He thought of the universe they’d seen together, of the shelter she’d given him when he thought of his old man and his aunt; of the way he knew her, inside and out. Of the times they’d slept in each other’s embrace, floating still as a quiet dream in the black silence of deep space.

Sensing Han’s longing for his ship, Leia put her hand on Solo’s shoulder and said “Come on, Captain. Let’s move.”

Han snapped back to the moment. “Right. Okay, Chewie, let’s find out what this baby can do.”

They fired up the engines in the stolen shuttle, eased out of the docking bay, and banked off into the endless night.

* * *

Construction on the Death Star proceeded. Traffic in the area was thick with transport ship, TIE fighters, and equipment shuttles. Periodically, the Super Star Destroyer orbited the area, along with the other (less big) Star Destroyers, surveying progress on the space station from every angle.

The bridge of the Star Destroyer was a hive of activity. Messengers ran back and forth along a string of controllers studying their tracking screens, monitoring ingress and egress of vehicles through the deflector shield. Codes were sent and received, orders given, diagrams plotted. It was an operation involving a thousand scurrying ships, and everything was proceeding with maximum efficiency, until Controller Escobar made contact with a shuttle of the Lambda class, approaching the shield from Sector Seven.

“Shuttle to Control, please come in.” The voice broke into Machado’s headset with the normal amount of static.

“We have you on our screen now,” the controller replied into her comlink. Like most terrestrials who worked for the Empire, she had come from a poor background. Her mother had been a school teacher in one of the many schools the Holy Roman Empress, aided by her husband’s mistress, constructed on their town. The first years, when the King was too preoccupied fighting heresy abroad, were pure bliss. She was widely acknowledged as one of the greatest female scholars in Spain. Ana Alicia, being her mother’s daughter, was celebrated and called “her mother’s daughter.” Like any daughter, she hated the attention she got on account of her mother. And boys were off limit so there was no chance of her having fun like any of the towns’ girls who could run off and have sex with the first idiots they saw. She didn’t know how lucky she was until the Empress died and one of the people accused of casting evil spells on her was her mother. Maria Machado -her mother- tried to flee but she was found before she made it to one of the newly formed Imperial garrisons. Besides she was witchcraft she was accused of treason and put on a cross where she was left to rot until she died. Before she was caught however she hid her daughter in an old barn. That is where the Empire found her. Lord Arthur Tudor and the Emperor’s right-hand man, Darth Vader. The latter looked impressive in his dark armor and unlike most people outside the barn who cowered at the sound of his mechanical breathing, she was intrigued by it. What secrets did the mask hold? She wondered.   
It didn’t take her long to be one of the Empire’s greatest prodigy and give out secrets of her mother’s former masters. Although she was not one to show off, everyone knew that the reason she always held her head up high was because she was one of the people responsible for the Emperor and his wretched son’s death.  
Like so many, she believed that the Emperor’s former right-hand man would make a greater Emperor than Palpatine. _Shame really that he forsook everything for love_. But there was no use lamenting over her hero’s former fate. What was done was done and she had a job to do as everyone aboard the Star Destroyer.

“Please identify.”

“This is Shuttle Tydirium, requesting deactivation of the deflector shield.”

“Shuttle Tydirium, transmit the clearance code for shield passage.”

Up in the shuttle, Han threw a worried look at the others and said into his comlink, “Transmission commencing.”

Chewie flipped a bank of switches, producing a syncopated series of high-frequency transmission noises. 

Leia bit her lip, bracing herself for fight or flight. “Now we find out if that code was worth the price we paid.”

Chewie whined nervously.

Luke stared at the huge Super Star Destroyer that loomed everywhere in front of them while Jane closed her eyes and pleaded to her uncle for guidance. Luke’s voice broke Jane’s concentration, forcing her to open them. “Vader is nearby.”

“You’re just jittery, Luke. Of course Vader is nearby, but I doubt the Emperor can sense him or either one of you.” Han reassured him, referring to the sun twins in his last sentence. “Chewie, let’s keep our distance, without looking like we’re keeping our distance.”

Chewie asked how.

“I don’t know. Fly casual.” Han said.

“They are taking a long time with that code clearance,” Marion said tightly. The young Imperials were careless, the Emperor and his highest officials were not.

“The Empire is filled with many officials and we are not the only ship asking for permission to cross. They must be busy attending to their clearances.”

“Why are we still here then? The other ships have taken less than a minute to cross. They aren’t taking this long unless they suspect something is amiss. The Emperor is not someone to spend so much money for nothing. If he has this much guards is because he knows we are coming and is not going to run the risk of repeating the first death star’s destruction.”

Marion had a point and Han hated to admit it, but she was right. Something was definitely not right. He was about to tell everyone to strap themselves in and make a run for it when the controller’s voice came again. She said they could pass.

* * *

Lord Arthur Tudor and Grand Moff Targaryen told the controller she did good. Capain Ana Alicia was proud with herself and afterwards returned to her regular duties, giving permission to other Imperial ships who transmitted up-to-date codes.

“Time to tell His Highness his favorite guests have arrived.” Arthur told Jon.

Jon nodded. Inside he was seething. He could sense Anakin was nearby. Shaking his head mentally, he told one of his aides to prepare his shuttle. Before boarding it, he told Sansa she and her mother to leave. Sansa gave little protest while her mother voiced her usual disappointments, reminding him that at his age, her husband was not afraid to tell the highest man in Westeros how to run things and would never let his family out of his sight. Jon refrained from reminding her how it was Eddard Stark’s careless actions with Robert and Cersei Lannister that caused most of her entire family to die, including her and if it weren’t for the red priests, they wouldn’t be here enjoying Imperial luxury.  
He reasoned that he would tell her all that and more after he was done with the rebels and had his children returned to him. If the Emperor managed to convert the sun twins and his friend to the dark side, then he’d have more allies to undermine his wife and her shrew mother’s plots.

Melisandre however warned him that it wasn’t going to be that easy. Sansa had learned from the best thieving liars at Cersei’s court. Every step he’d take, she’d be a step ahead and her mother two.

“That witch. I should have killed her when I had the chance.” He told the red witch.

“But you didn’t and that is all that matters now. This is more than a war of politicians, old friends and new. It is a war between the living and the dead.”

“How long have you been saying that? Decades, centuries? To the emperor it doesn’t make a difference. He only cares about the light and the dark.”

“There is light and dark. He has seen it, but he underestimates the latter. Darkness doesn’t equal evil any more than light equals life or death. They are all necessary to the balance of the universe.”

Jon smirked. “Would that I could, that I could make that true but in the end we all have to pick a side my lady. There is no in between.” He said, echoing what he heard the former queen of Westeros, Cersei Lannister say when he and Vader visited the Alderaani court. “You think I will see Anakin one day? On the other side?”

“Perhaps. Perhaps not. After you killed Bran, I could no longer see that far into the future. The death of the last three-eyed-raven, has made my sight blurry.” Melisandre said.

She grinned, sitting next to him. “Your lord father believed that the Jedi were the key to the future. That he was the prince that was promised, after he realized he was not, he looked unto your mother to produce the fabled prince. I looked to you after I lost Stannis, believing you were the One along with Anakin. The prophecies speak of the One that was Promised coming under many guises. I took it as proof that you and Anakin were chosen ones as the old ones had predicted.”

“Now you are not so sure.”

It wasn’t a question. Melisandre did not need to shake her head to give him an answer, her eyes revealed the answer for him.

“It is funny. I always dreamed of being a Stark, standing higher above all of Lady Stark’s children, including Robb whom I loved very much. Can you at least see what is in store for Lyanna and Eddard?” He asked, not caring to ask about his wife and her mother anymore.

“I cannot. Their future is clouded as is everyone’s else’s but I have seen a light at the end of the tunnel. I am sorry I cannot tell you more.”

It was odd hearing the once mighty dark red lady, who had stood at the head of Stannis’ armies, speak with such solemnity, looking worn and tired as if she were an old woman. But these were trying times. Everyone was being tested and as his father always said, the strongest would survive and when the time came for him to meet his death, he’d do so without shame, showing no fear.

* * *

The trees of Endor stood a thousand feet tall.

Their trunks, covered with shaggy, rust bark, rose straight as a pillar, some of them as big around as a house, some thin as a leg. Their foliage was spindly, but lush in color, scattering the sunlight in delicate blue-green patterns over the forest floor.  
Distributed thickly among these ancient giants was the usual array of woodsy flora-pines of several species, various deciduous forms, variously gnarled and leafy. The groundcover was primarily fern, but so dense in spots as to resemble a gentle green sea that rippled softly in the forest breeze.

On the hill adjacent to the clearing, the Rebel contingent was just beginning to make its way up a steep trail. Leia, Chewie, Han, Marion, Doreah, Jane and Luke led the way, followed in single file by the raggedly, helmeted squad of the strike team. The unite was composed of the elite ground fighters of the Rebel Alliance. A scruffy bunch in some ways, they’d each been handpicked for initiative, cunning, and ferocity. Some were trained commandos, some paroled criminals -but they all hated the Empire with a passion that exceeded self-preservation. And they all knew this was the crucial raid. If they failed to destroy the shield generator here, the Rebellion was doomed. No second chances.  
Consequently, no one had to tell them to be alert as they made their way silently up the forest path. They were, every one, more alert than they had ever been.  
R2-D2 and C-3PO brought up the rear of the brigade. R2’s domed pate swiveled ‘round and ‘round as he went, blinking his sensor lights at the infinitely tall trees which surrounded them.

 ** _“It is very peaceful here, isn’t it? Pretty too.”_** R2 commented to its friend.

“No, I do not think it is peaceful or ‘pretty’ as you put it.” The golden protocol droid said with outrage. How could R2 be so calm? Sometimes he didn’t understand his astromech friend. He was too weird for his liking.

“With our luck, it is inhabited solely by droid-eating monsters.” C-3PO said, reminding R2 of the thing that had nearly eaten him when he accompanied Jane and Luke to the swamp planet Master Yoda was in.

R2 gave an angry whistle and said told C-3PO not to ruin the mood, then added something that shocked him.

“You must be mad.”

 ** _“No. I am not. Have you never asked yourself what it would feel to be like them?”_** R2 pointing to rag-tag group of rebels they had been stuck with for the past half-decade. **_“Those two look happy.”_**

“Master Luke and Mistress Jane Kyra? Of course they are. Humans fall for one another all the time and it makes more sense when they’ve known each other for a long period of time.” R2 gave a happy whistle but C-3PO killed the droid’s illusion. “Their lives become more complicated as a result of this change of lifestyle.”

 ** _“Shame.”_** R2 said with a low beep. He had watched Jane Kyra’s fraternal twin and half-sister play with one another on the latter’s palace. Sometimes they’d dress R2 with silk drapes and paper crows and the little droid would wonder what it would feel to be a royal, to be human? It thought that C-3PO would understand, unfortunately the astromech droid had underestimated the protocol droid’s disdain for the human condition. _Maybe he will change._ R2 could only hope.

Seeing the two droids bicker made Han turn his head and hiss “Quiet!”

 _Why did we bring those two, especially the goldenrod_? Accursed women and their metal companions. The only good metal companion he relied on was his blaster. He could not stand another second with C-3PO telling him the odds against them, or R2 making some remark that angered the former.

As the forest seemed to become more silent, Luke, Jane and Han crawled forward on their bellies, to view what the others were observing. Pointing through the ferns, Leia, Doreah, Marion and Chewie cautioned stealth. Not far below, in a glen beside a clear pool, two Imperial scouts had set up temporary camp. They were fixing a meal of rations and were preoccupied with warming it over a portable cooker. Two speeder bikes were parked nearby.

“Should we try to go around?” Whispered Leia.

“It’ll take time.” Luke shook his head.

Han peeked from behind a rock. “Yeah, and if they catch sight of us and report, this whole party’s for nothing.”

“If they do not know we are here already.” Marion added, pointing to their holo-pads.

“They are scouts. If they knew we were here, we would be dead by now.” Han said.

“We can’t risk it.” Doreah said. Her hand went to her dagger. It was of Valyrian steel.

“Hey, wait. What do you think you are doing?” Han asked, gripping her wrist.

“Hands off Solor. This is our only chance to neutralizing the Imperial threat.”

“More like alerting them of our presence.” Han hissed. His tone softened. “Look, we do not even know if that thing will work. Their armor is almost impregnable.” He let go of her hand and took out a small blaster, handing it to her. “You’ll have better luck with this.”

“No thanks Solo. I will try my luck with this.” Doreah said, giving him a wink as she watched the scouts again.

Han grinned _. She is her father’s daughter alright_. Adventurous, fearless and absolutely deadly, she was going to risk her own life, to honor her father’s legacy.

But before she could achieve that, Han motioned to Chewie, and told the group to wait for them.

“Han-“ Jane began to protest but Han waved her off, giving her his roughest smile then winking at Leia.

“Quietly,” warned Luke, “there might be-“

 But before he could finish, Han jumped up with his furry partner and rushed into the clearing. Like I am going to let the last of the Martell bastards have all the fun!

-“more out there.” Luke finished speaking to himself. He looked over at Jane.

Jane shrugged. “What’d you expect?”

His head moved to Leia who nodded and gave that same tiresome look. Some things never changed.

Before Luke could respond, though, they were distracted by a loud commotion in the glen. They flattened to the ground and watched.

Han was engaged in a rousing fist fight with one of the scouts -he hadn’t looked so happy in days. The other scout jumped on his speeder bike to escape. But by the time he’d ignited the engines, Chewie was able to get off a few shots from his crossbow laser. The ill-fated scout crashed instantly against an enormous tree; a brief, muffled explosion followed.

Marion and Leia drew their pistols, while Doreah leaped at one of the closest troopers, plunging her dagger to his neck, killing him instantly. Just as Han had predicted, their armors made them almost untouchable except for that one spot that was covered by simple materials that made it easy for a dagger made of the finest steel to penetrate it at his body’s weakest spot. The trooper was dead before he hit the floor.

As Leia began firing at the other troopers, several large laser blasts went her way. One of them found her. Cursing as one of them blasted her gun away, she turned to Marion and asked her to give her one of her smaller blasters. Marion however didn’t have enough time, hers was blown away as well and Doreah knocked unconscious.

Marion was told to be silent by one of the troopers that aimed their blasters at her and her half-sister. If her eyes were a weapon, they’d be dead already. They held more hatred than her sister. Luckily for these two troopers, they didn’t have the misfortune of meeting their untimely end at the Tyrell’s hands, as Jane leapt at them and sent them flying backwards, then made them unconscious.

Leia told Jane there were two more.

“I see them!” Answered their brother, rising to his feet after nearly being knocked down by a smaller platoon. “Stay here.”

But his sisters had ideas of their own. They ran to the remaining rocket speeder, but only two got there on time. They were Luke and Leia.

“You have to be fucking kidding me!” Marion cursed. “Leia!” But Luke and Leia were already far off, being chased by two troopers in their own rocket speeders. The remaining ones on the ground that recovered consciousness after being thrown away by Jane Kyra, suffered her twin’s wrath.

Jane looked at the two dead bodies, shaking her head.

“What?”

“That was not necessary.”

“Do me a favor Jane and preach to me another day when I am not anger’s prisoner!” Marion said going to her wife. “Doreah, honey.”

Doreah groaned as she opened her eyes. Relief soon came when her vision came and she was greeted by Marion’s worried face.

“Fancy seeing you again. Where’s everyone else?”

Marion told her they were gone.

“And with the only kriffin’ speeder here. Fuck!”

“That is no way for a lady to curse.” Jane said, unable to help herself to some of her dark humor.

“How are we going to find them now?” Marion asked, putting both hands at her hips.

“Can’t you sense them?” Doreah asked.

Marion nodded. “Yes, but it is not like I can pin-point their location or something and with Sidious being so close, I wouldn’t want to give away our position.”

Marion was right. Sidious was on the death star. That much she and Luke had known when they passed the super star destroyer and other battle ships surrounding it. _If Sidious find out, then all of this will be for nothing._ The former queen of England’s words rang in her head: _Many Bothans died to bring us this information._

For them, she would think with her head instead of her heart, and listen to Marion’s council for once.


	50. Emotional Creatures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As our heroes find new allies, they also find new obstacles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of the dialogue is taken from the novelization of Return of the Jedi.  
> Song: Sally and Jack's final song from Nightmare before Christmas.

_“My dearest friend, if you don’t mind_  
I’d like to join you by your side  
where we can gaze into the stars  
and sit together  
now and forever …  
For it is plain as anyone can see  
we are simply meant to be…”

**_~Jack and Sally’s song at the end of Nightmare before Christmas_ **

_“But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” **  
~Matthew 5:28**_

After Han and company found Luke, they started searching for Leia. Leia had landed somewhere else after she had been kicked out of the rocket bike by a Stormtrooper and found by one of the furry inhabitants of this moon. Tilting his head, the creature looked at her with great curiosity. What was this thing doing here? He wondered, and proceeded to attack her but she pushed his spear away. “Quit it. I mean you no harm.” She said taking down her helmet showing there was nothing there. He emitted what sounded like laughter and sat next to her, like a child eager to find out more about his newly found friend.

Leia took out a treat and gave it to him. It was made of chocolate, something that her sister-in-law cooked, meant for Marion but Marion hating chocolate, gave it to Leia instead. The creature was delighted by the taste of it.

Leia sighed. So not so menacing after all. But she knew better than to lower her guard. Appearances could be deceiving, and even something as cute as this thing, could be prove to be more dangerous than any other threat she had encountered so far.

“You are the first one that doesn’t mind the trouble I am, if you can understand me. I am stuck here. And I don’t even know where here is. You wouldn’t happen to have a comlink on you by any chance?” Big joke -but she hoped maybe talking about it would give her an idea. The furry creature blinked a few times -but he only gave her a mystified look. Leia smiled. “No, I guess not.”

As he giggled again, something came to her mind. She remembered one of her lessons. “You are an Ewok, aren’t you?”

Hostile, cute-looking creatures who knew they looked harmless to other alien species and took advantage of that to gain the upper hand. But, her textbook also mentioned that they were highly sociable creatures who were very intuitive and if they sensed no danger from a stranger, they’d befriend it immediately.

So Leia took out more chocolate treats and gave it to him which made the Ewok made his mind up about her.

Suddenly the Ewok froze; his ears witched, and he sniffed the air. He dropped the last treat, and look at her in alarm.

“What is it?” Leia whispered, sensing something was wrong as well.

All at once the Ewok let out a loud, terrified screech. Leia drew her pistol, jumping behind the log; Wicket scurried beside her and squeezed under it. A long silence followed. Tense, uncertain, Leia trained her senses on the near underbrush. Ready to fight.

For all her readiness, she hadn’t expected the laser bolt to come from where it did -high, off to the right. It exploded in front of the log with a shower of light and pine needles. She returned the fire quickly -two short blasts- then just as quickly sensed something behind her. Slowly she swiveled, to find an Imperial scout standing over her, his weapon leveled at her head. He reached out his hand for the pistol she held.

“I’ll take that,” he ordered.

Without warning, a furry hand came out of from under the log and jabbed the scout in the leg with a knife. The man howled in pain, began jumping about on one foot.

Leia dove for his fallen laser pistol. She rolled, fired, and hit the scout squarely in the chest, flash-burning his heart.

Quickly the forest was quiet once more, the noise and light swallowed up as if they had never been. Leia lay still where she was, panting softly, waiting for another attack. None came.

Wicked poked his fuzzy head up from under the log, and looked around.

Leia hopped up, ran all about the area, crouched, turned her head from side to side. It seemed safe from the time being. She motioned to her chubby new friend. “Come on, we’d better get out of here.”

As they moved into the thick flora, Wicked took the lead. Leia was unsure at first, but he shrieked urgently at her and tugged her sleeve. So she relinquished control to the odd little beast and followed him.

She cast her mind adrift for a while, letting her feet carry her nimbly along among the gargantuan trees. She was struck, suddenly, not by the smallness of the Ewok who guided her, but by her own smallness next to these trees. They were ten thousand years old, some of them, and tall beyond sight. They were temples to the life-force she championed; they reached out to the rest of the universe. She felt herself part of their greatness, but also dwarfed by it. And lonely. She felt lonely here, in this forest of giants. All her life she’d lived among giants of her own people: her father, the great Senator and Prince Bail Organa; her mother, weak but strong-willed, Minister of Education and Queen of Alderaan, Breha Organa; her peers, her sister and friend Marion and Marion’s foster mother and grandmother and great-grandmother, Margaery Tyrell, Queen Cersei and the legendary queen of thorns, Lady Olenna. Giants all of them.

But these trees. They were like mighty exclamation points, announcing their own preeminence. They were here! They were older than time! They would be here long after Leia was gone, after the Rebellion, after the Empire …

And then she didn’t feel lonely again, but felt a part again, of these magnificent, poised beings. A part of them across time and space, connected by the vibrant, vital force, of which …

It was confusing. A part, and apart. She couldn’t understand. And shouldn’t. This wasn’t her area of expertise, it was Luke and Jane Kyra’s. The two had a power that she would never had. Never hoped to have. She was just a politician. Plain and simple. This was her life, her mantra. Once a fighter, always a fighter. She had ambitions to become the first Chancellor after the Republic was restored _. A better one that will not fail its electorate the way the other did_. Even if she didn’t get that, she would work behind the scenes the way her father did, pushing politicians towards social reform.

 _What about Han?_ A voice in her head asked her. _Han will do what he loves best._ He will have an office in a building or assisting other generals to train the new Republican army. It would be something that would keep his mind preoccupied of their marriage, her career and their father. But most of all, it would keep him away from the influence of his aunt, the former queen, Jane Seymour.

The woman was driving Leia crazy. She had risen to the top thanks to her mouth, but she had nothing else to contribute to the rebellion. Without her brother and Han protecting her, she’d be nothing. She can’t even hold a blaster. Mon Mothma at least could defend herself, but Jane, a skinny, resentful former royal; what hope was there for her? It surprised her that she had managed to make it this long. In Leia’s experience, women like her barely made it past their twenty fifth year, let alone their fortieth!

She has guts, I will give her that. She hoped that the woman’s interest in politics would discontinue after the new republic’s creation. She couldn’t fathom bumping into her as she met with countless senators to discuss her reform plans. Knowing her, she’d probably deliver an entire sermon about how Leia was untrustworthy and her plans amounted to nothing.

Returning to the matter of hand, Leia looked down at her furry companion. Seeing her confusion and frustration, Wicket grabbed her hand and led her to his tribe where she’d be safe.

* * *

 

After Vader and the rest of the fleet entered light speed, he went to search for Mary. She was playing with Ben, teaching him the ways of the Force the way Anakin taught her after he met her. _And married her_. He reminded himself.

Ben was trying to focus his eyes on the small soldier his mommy had given him for his birthday a month ago. But try as he might he couldn’t lift it more than two feet off the air.

“You will get the hang of it as you get older.”

“It is just so hard.” He groaned and threw it away.

“It is hard when you are thinking of many things at once. Clear your head. And just focus on the thing in front of you. It becomes easier that way.” Anakin knelt in front of him. Mary went to get the toy. “Go on.” Anakin said.

Ben closed his eyes and did as Anakin had told him and suddenly when he opened them, the soldier was hovering over his head.

“I did it! I did it!” He cried, catching it in the air then dropping it to twin his arms around Anakin.

“Yes, you did. I told you, you could. Let’s try with something else shall we?” Ben nodded and Mary went to get more of his toys.

Both of them were aware that Catherine was in the next room, hearing their laughter. In her room was Obi Wan giving her a sympathetic smile. “At least they are trying to win Ben over.”

Catherine glared at him. She didn’t miss his indirect meaning in regards to their daughter. “Do not start.”

“I wish you really tried Catherine. She is our daughter and I hate agreeing with Anakin, but he has a point.”

“You still think I chose you over Henry because you would provide me with a golden child for me to rule? I chose you because I loved you.”

“Forgive me to find that hard to believe when you told me how you struggled so hard to enjoy your intimate times with your husband. Didn’t seem like it was much of a struggle when you put up that smile and said he was ‘the best man to warm your bed.’”

“Do not be naïve Obi Wan, I told you that so I could make you angry.”

“Congratulations. It worked.” Obi Wan said, still feeling hurt as he remembered the smirk she used after she said those words. “I wanted us to be together. But after Qui Gon died and I realized that Mary was mine, I became scared. He firmly believed that he was the chosen one and while I didn’t believe it at first, I came to in the end. I needed to be a good master to him, show him the ways of the Force the way I was taught by him and the other Jedi Masters and the only way I could do that was by ridding myself of my former attachments. What I am trying to say is that I made a terrible mistake and I am sorry. I should have told the Jedi council everything and been there for you and Mary.”

“You do not need to apologize. Can you see us together, happily ever after like in a fairy tale where the knight gets to spend the rest of his days with his fair princess after he rescues her from the evil witch? We were not meant for happiness and I could not live with myself knowing that I kept you from your true love, the Jedi. Any more than you could have lived with yourself knowing you kept me from my dream to make our daughter into the queen she was born to be.”

Obi Wan sighed and sat next to her on the bed then placed his hand above hers. “If not for me then at least for the two of you. Mary needs her mother, I do not know what this dark cloud that I keep seeing in her future means but I do know that she doesn’t need to face it alone.”

“She has Anakin and you.”

“It is nothing compared to you. You are her mother, you were there for her when I wasn’t and despite everything that has happened, she has never stopped loving you. Give her a chance. Please.”

She had never heard Obi Wan begging, it was strange and almost hilarious. Almost. Seeing the desperation in his eyes, she felt pity and had no choice but to nod.

After he left, she put her hair in a pony tail and went to see her daughter. Anakin was no longer there, having returned to the pilot seat. It was only her and Ben.

Ben sensed his mother and ran towards her. Catherine picked him up and kissed his cheeks.  Ben giggled. “Mommy, you should have been here when Anakin was teaching me how to make objects fly. It was great mommy.”

“I bet it was. So you are becoming a fast learner then?”

“Yes, mommy. One day I will become a powerful Jedi Knight like Anakin was.” He said with an open smile. Catherine kissed him again and placed him down. “Why don’t you go to Anakin then, I need to have a chat with Bella. Is that ok?”

“Yes. I get to watch him in action!” Ben cried running towards the cockpit where Anakin placed him on the co-pilot’s seat and told him all about the buttons of the ship, and what he would do once the battle started. Ben was completely enthralled by his narration. He told Anakin that when he grew up, he was going to be a war pilot just like him.

In his room where Catherine and Mary were, the latter said to her mother with a small smile, “Now he won’t leave Anakin alone.”

Catherine didn’t miss the look of sadness that crossed her face. She had seen it there when her son called her ‘mommy’. _She hasn’t had the courage to tell the boy who the real mother is and the circumstances behind his birth_. It would have been too much, but Ben was a precocious little boy. He could understand.

“So you and Anakin are still sleeping together?” Catherine blurted out. The question didn’t take Mary by surprise who nodded and said a small, barely audible ‘yes’ but she didn’t expect it to come out too soon. “He loves me. Even if you do not believe me, he does and he loves Ben as well.”

“You have always been a dreamer. I loved that about you when you were a child but you are not a child anymore Mary. Anakin will always be a bastard and I do not mean that in the figurative sense. He is not the chosen one, your father blinded himself to the truth as did all of the Jedi because they couldn’t accept it.”

“And what is that mother? That he is the devil? You always thought the worst of Anakin. I have seen into his eyes, been with him in every way and every time we are together, I feel like I am closest to God.”

“Of course you do. It is called fucking, honey. When I was with your father I thought that we were going to live happily ever after, I even called out the Lord’s name in vein and swore that I saw him in his eyes but I was young and naïve just as you are being naïve now. He is not a good person Mary, he has killed before and he will kill again. You run a great risk if you stay with him.”

She took her mother’s hands and with a small smile she told her, “I will be fine. I promise. I trust him, you always said you trusted my judge of character, why can’t you trust me now?”

“Because you have not lived as long as I have, my daughter. You have not experienced what I have.” Before she could reply, she added, “What Arthur did was unforgivable and I was angry and I resorted to the only way I could cope and that is blaming the persona you created but I have always loved you and I just want what is best for you. I had to wage war on King Henry VII for nearly seven years until he finally died and his son made me his queen. I believed it was my destiny to be queen and the son born of our union to be the next King of England but when your half-brother died, I realized how miserable I was. Your supposed father would go behind my back and sleep with anyone who was willing to open her legs to him. Your father came during that time. We comforted each other and we declared our love for each other. Everything started from that point onwards and then you were conceived. I prayed to God daily that you would survive and when you were placed on my arms, I thanked the Almighty and when you took your first steps, my heart leapt with joy. I asked Obi Wan to stay with you and me. It could be just you, me and her -I told him but he was married to his duty and I hated him for it. Just as he became obsessed with turning Anakin into the perfect Jedi, I became obsessed with making you into the perfect model of kingship. When you fell in love with Anakin, I felt like I was being betrayed … and I also felt jealous.”

Her last confession shocked Mary.

“Why? You wanted to marry me to Prince Tommen and countless others, why did you fell jealous that I fell in love with a Jedi the same way you did?” She demanded.

 _She is truly naïve. My poor child_. How could she had ever been a goddess? More than that, how could she be of her and Obi Wan’s lineage?  
“My daughter, my sweet daughter. You had the chance to be with someone who was going to risk his own life to be with you. Who would have left the Jedi Order if necessary to protect you and your offspring and you would not have hesitated to follow him to the ends of the earth. How could I not be jealous?”

Mary lowered her eyes. It never dawned on her how unhappy her mother had been. She had been so focused on her own pain and anger to notice other people’s, primarily her parents’.

She raised her eyes to meet her mother’s sky blue eyes. “You have nothing to be jealous mother. I proved to be the same screw up as you, only worse. Anakin didn’t give his life for me nor did he return to the Jedi Order like father. He turned much worse and I became something that I hated.”

“Which is why you must listen to me Mary. He is not what everyone says he is. The Emperor confused him with a Sith and Obi Wan with a Jedi, but he is something else.”

“And what is that mother? The devil?” Her voice was filled with skepticism.

“Yes!” Catherine insisted. “For the love of God, look into his eyes. Really see him. There is nothing there. I know there are so many of us who have lost faith. I did and you did as well when we were abandoned, but I have always believed that there is good and evil and in every book there is a prophecy that speaks of a savior and a false one. Anakin is not the one who was promised, much less the savior our book talked about. That tale that his mother spun to Qui Gon Jinn, about Anakin being born out of nothing? Doesn’t it strike you as incredible? One day you wake up and you are pregnant just like that? It is too similar to the one of Jesus where his mother is visited by the angel Gabriel and she wakes up the following day to find she is pregnant.” She took a deep breath, then resumed by adding in a dead serious voice. “It has been written in the Jedi annals that the dark side is a pathway many are afraid to venture in. The bible says that the devil imitates everything God does; your father believes the same of the dark side. Who’s not to say that Sidious’ master did not use his knowledge to create life out of nothing with the help of a secret servant, namely one who was utterly devoted and believed in his cause.”

“How can you be so cold? Anakin’s mother would never lie to him. If anything of what you say is true, Anakin would have been the first to know. He has been searching for her family for years and everything he’s found confirms her story. She was captured by slave raiders who killed her family and sold her into slavery on Tatooine. Why is it so hard for you to believe in Anakin?”

“Because I know men, especially bad ones and I can see he is hiding something. Please listen to me Mary, I am not begging you as a mother since you do not want to see me as one, I am begging you as a friend, someone who cares for you deeply.”

“You’ve said that many times but I find it hard to believe.”

“Your father said the same thing. But at least consider what I am saying.” Catherine brushed her hand against her daughter’s cheek. “You need to be less trusting Mary. Anakin is not the man you think he is.”

* * *

“We have been wandering the woods for hours, Solo, why don’t we just separate and take our chances with the troopers and ask them where Leia is?” Doreah said to Han.

“Because not everything has to be stab-stab, got it? Leia could be really hurt.”

Doreah put her dagger back in her sheath, though she kept her hand close to it, in case she needed to use it again. “You underestimate your wife, Solo.”

“And you underestimate the troopers. You were lucky that time.”

“I got a good gal watching my back just like you.” Doreah said winking at Marion. Marion smirked.

“Would you two stop? Han is right, we need to stick together, otherwise we risk getting capture like Leia.” Jane Kyra said. Her brother nodded and said the same thing using different words.

“Finally someone agrees with me.” Han said, then muttered under his breath when Doreah said something that meant to anger him.

“Don’t get him upset Doreah, half-breeds get upset too easily.” Marion said.

“Hey, stop with the half-breeds jokes ok. I am not terrestrial. I was born on Corellia.”

“Your father was terrestrial and you were conceived on Earth so that makes you half-terrestrial. Deal with it and embrace it.” Marion said with a playful smile while her wife sniggered.

 _They are one of a kind._ He’d be out of his mind if he said it out loud, but Leia and Marion had more in common with their father than their adoptive parents, and were far more alike than Luke and Jane Kyra who resembled the gentler side of their maternal families.

Genetics really screwed up there. Jane and Luke were mirror images of their father but were nothing like him. Jane was kind, empathetic (too much -in Han’s opinion) and Luke, prudish and thoughtful.

He wondered if it all skipped a generation. If any children he had with Leia were going to turn out like their aunt and uncle. If so, poor kids. Not that he didn’t mind Luke and Jane. They were great friends, especially Jane, but he’d love to have someone who was more like Leia to make his life interesting.

Chewie brought him out of his thoughts by growling. “Now what fuzzball? There is no sign of Leia, we have been searching for hours. You heard the Leia.”

Chewie pointed to a dead animal. Han rolled his eyes. “Now’s not that the time for that.” But it was too late. Chewie was heading right towards it. As Luke noticed something strange, he yelled: “No, Chewie.” And he and the rest ran towards the Wookie, but none were able to stop him from landing him and them into the Ewok’s trap.

“Oh great! Always thinking with your stomach, fuzzball!”

“Would you two be silent? We have to find a way to get out of this.” Luke said then noticed C-3PO was below him, his arm slightly raised, and close to his belt. “C-3PO grab my lightsaber.”

Jane Kyra said before the protocol droid tried anything, “I will hand it to you.” But Luke said “No!” not wishing to give away their position to the Emperor, or to her sister-in-law’s father’s witch, who no doubt had sensed her growing power since she had used it to rescue him from Jabba’s pet three years ago.

Jane Kyra glared at Luke but had no time to offer an angry reply as R2 took out a small laser and tore through the rope which dropped all of them on the hard bushy floor.

“Damn!” Marion said, raising herself up just in time to see furry little things approaching them, pointing their spears at them. “What in the seven hells are these things?”

“Funny looking and cute.” Doreah said, trying to touch one of them but Marion put her hand down.

Han told them to stop but that just made them angry. They finally stopped when C-3PO rose and everyone bowed and then rose again only to chant. Han asked the protocol droid what that was all about and he replied that judging by their primitive dialect and body language, they thought he was some kind of God.

Luke covered his mouth so Han and the rest wouldn’t hear him laughing. Jane Kyra however, couldn’t help herself and burst out laughing. “Seriously? You?!” She laughed harder by the second as one of the Ewoks took offense and pointed her spear at her. The others followed.

Marion glared at her but Jane Kyra could barely stop. Like Luke before her, she covered her mouth and pressed her lips together, trying to hold it in.

Like Marion, Han didn’t find this amusing and asked the protocol droid to make himself useful and tell these creatures to release them but C-3PO said that it would go against his protocol and be highly unethical on his part.

“Unethical, why you son of a metal –“ The Ewoks closed in on Han at once ready to thrust their spears at him. Han sat down again. “He is a close friend. Honest to the gods, or him.” He smiled sheepishly.

Marion groaned. This is going to be a very long day. She turned to Doreah who still found the things cute. At seeing her wife’s angry look, she merely shrugged as if saying ‘could be worse’.

**~o~**

But as it was, it was worse. They were tied down and taken to the Ewok tribe where they met with several of what they assumed were their priests by the animal bones necklaces and the various pelts on their heads.

“Now what?”  Marion asked. The Ewoks signaled to one of their youngest and most adventurous member of their tribe, Wicket to come out with their new friend. Leia came from his hut, her hair long and loose with the exception of two long braids. She was wearing a long woolen dress they had done for her and a necklace they (with the exception of Han and Marion) had not seen. It was one she had since her childhood days on Alderaan.

Han screamed her name and Jane Kyra tried to break free but Luke told her he had a better plan, while the smuggler’s pleas went unheard by their captors.

“C-3PO tell them that if they don’t let us go, they will be witness to your destructive power.”

“But Master Luke, I can’t tell them that.”

“Just do it.” Luke said tightly, trying hard not to lose his patience with the protocol droid.

C-3PO did but the Ewoks said that it was part of their tradition to offer sacrifice. So Luke turned to Jane who nodded, understanding what he was asking and the two got to work.

Closing his eyes, Luke concentrated on the droid and immediately he began spinning while Jane Kyra’s eyes remained opened, unknown to everyone, flashing a bright red. Flames erupted from below the spot where C-3PO sat on his (now) floating chair.

“Oh Dear! Thank the maker!” C-3PO cried out in fear and astonishment.

“Release them!” C-3PO said in a less frightful and more commandeering voice to the Ewoks.

Luke breathed a sigh of relief and opened his eyes. The droid’s spinning chair stopped spinning and the flames disappeared, and slowly, it was brought to the ground.

The Ewoks mumbled a few things in what their former captives suspected was an apology and bowed their heads in respect to them. The flash of red had disappeared from Jane Kyra’s eyes and she went to Luke’s side at once.

Leia came running towards Han and the two kissed each other. Marion hugged Doreah. The latter slapped her wife’s back and said “See, I told you things would be solved.”

“You and Jane Kyra are going to be the death of me.” Marion said. She looked down at all the things gathered around them, expecting to see them kiss. “Sorry guys but we like to keep it private.” She said and took Doreah away so, true to her word, they could have some alone time.

~o~

After they told the rebellion of their location and newfound allies, our heroes settled in and listened to the show C-3PO and R2-D2 had for the Ewoks. With the help of the astromech droid who provided great sound effects, the protocol droid kept his audience enthralled, revisiting the events that had led everyone to the moon of Endor.

As he got to the part of Vader and the former Inquisitor, Jane Kyra got up and left. Luke followed her. Leia was tempted to as well but hearing Hand and her sister-in-law’s laughter, she remained. Maybe after C-3PO switches to something else, I will see what is up with them.

As Jane Kyra felt her brother trailing behind her, she turned. “What’s wrong?” He asked. “Are you having second thoughts about leaving after this is over?”

She shook her head.

“Good. I do not want you to leave. You are my sister.” He approached and touched her cheek, brushing his thumb against the soft surface of her porcelain skin. “You could never leave me.”

“I never could.” Jane Kyra agreed with him there. “But I want my independence. I want to continue teaching. My students have done so much progress and I do not want to leave them behind.”

“You do not have to. They can join me … us …” he quickly reworded seeing the immediate apprehension when he used the singular form. “… in our Jedi Academy. Carina can teach them everything about self defense and you can continue to teach them everything you love and you can show them more. You can open doors that they would otherwise never hope to have if they stay in Tatooine.”

“Luke, you ask too much of me. You have Carina, I have my school.”

“And I already said, you can take your students to our Academy. We can teach them. You and I. It is our destiny to rebuild the Jedi. You heard what Master Yoda said, we need to defeat the Emperor in order to be true Jedi then rebuild the Order.”

“He said that we should also do something better. I can help by instructing destitute youths in the poorer sectors of the galaxy while you focus on rebuilding the Order.” Jane Kyra argued but Luke wouldn’t have it.

Luke neared her face and kissed her passionately. “I have always envisioned a future with you, you have always envisioned one with me. What has changed? Are you afraid that we might not make it?”

“No, it is not that.”

“Then what? Please, tell me. Jane, I have been restless. You have not told me anything since your mother and grandmother returned. Whenever I ask you about your nightmares you say they are nothing but they are not nothing. I can see it in your eyes. You’ve had a vision. Tell me, please. I am your brother and I love you. Since we are little we have always been together. You can’t tell me that you’ve changed your mind because of nothing.”

Jane Kyra wanted to tell him. Force, how she wanted to tell him what she saw, what her uncle Owen warned her about but she couldn’t. If it was what she suspected, then it would scare him as well and distract him from their future confrontation with the Empire. The alliance was counting on them, they couldn’t let them down. This will be the conflict that decides everything. And while she wanted to win, a small part of her didn’t because she was afraid that after she did, she would go back to the old cycle. Next to Luke as his loyal follower, lover, sister … Nothing more, noting less …

“Luke …” Jane looked down. “I can’t. I just can’t.”

Luke sighed. “Can you at least tell me if your mind is on the battle?”

“You know it is but I can’t answer you that question right now. One day I might, but not right now.”

Luke wished he could pry the truth out of her. If he could search into her mind …  
But no, that was not like him. She was his sister after all, and in spite of her strange arguments, he trusted her. They were always inseparable. She would come to her senses sooner or later and realize what he said was true: the two were meant to be together and the Force bond they had established was impossible to break. Even Carina knew it. She had never felt jealous or threatened by Jane Kyra. And neither did Jane Kyra.  
So where do these talks of independence come from? Could it be that his sister was having second thoughts or worse, doubts about her abilities? He hoped not, because his sister had great potential and she could help many trainees realize theirs.

“Tomorrow we will have to surrender ourselves to Imperial authorities. We can’t stop that. Is that why you are afraid?”

“No, although I am nervous. What if our father’s ship arrives before tomorrow? He will make us follow him. You know he will not accept the idea of us surrendering to one of his former subordinates and have his master corrupt us the same way he did with him.”

“It won’t happen.” Luke promised her, brushing his thumb against her cheek again. “If he comes tonight, then all three of us will surrender ourselves to the Emperor and together we will confront him and defeat him.”

 _You sound so sure of yourself Luke but your eyes speak of a different tale._ Her brother was very doubtful, but he held a strong conviction in his faith in the Force that even if he died, he would risk himself in the name of everything that was righteous to save their friends. _So will I._ Although she wasn’t planning on dying anytime soon. Killing the Emperor meant saving countless of lives, including their friends’. Moreover, if she and Luke died, it would be a hard blow to their father and her mother which would allow the dark side of the Force to seduce them like it did before.

And just as Jane Kyra suspected, their father and other ships arrived that night and reached the Ewok camp. He was pretty recognizable with the scar across his face. The Ewoks immediately bowed their heads in respect, sensing he was an important authority figure. They found amusement with Ben who like Doreah, found the furry creatures too cute to resist.

“You ready?” Anakin asked his two children. They nodded. “If we don’t make it, you must warn everyone to leave.”

“What guarantee do we have that we will come back as ghosts like Master Yoda?” Jane Kyra asked. Her tone was civil while her brother’s was cross, and remained glaring at their father. While he had high hopes for him, Luke could still sense the dark elements within him waiting to take control of him.

“You will. Trust me. You are both of the Light, you will come back.”

“You won’t.” Luke said and it wasn’t a question.

Anakin shrugged. He knew that his son didn’t harbor any good feelings towards him but in comparison to his twin and half-sister, at least he was trying. Shifting his glance from him to Jane, he wondered how they would have turned out if they had been raised by their mothers and him? They look so strong but are too fragile. Their eyes speak of the horrors they have lived. It would be very easily for the Emperor to tempt them like he tempted him and Mary _. But I won’t let him. I didn’t have Obi Wan by my side, Luke and Jane have me and I will die before I let that man corrupt them the way he did me._

“I do not know what the Force has in store for me but I can tell you this: The Emperor is very crafty. He will mix lies with truths. That is his way and he will sound convincing at first, but you must remember who you are. Don’t let your guard down, that is how he gets you. He will try to turn us against one another. If you feel yourselves slipping, look to one another, remember your friends. They are your strength.”

Jane Kyra thanked him then took Luke’s hand. Luke gripped her hand tightly. He turned to her briefly before they resumed their trek. See? I told you. His eyes said. This made Jane Kyra look down. It looked as if it was her destiny after all to be with Luke. But why? _Why can’t I forge my path the way he has done his?_

 _Maybe_ -she hoped- _after this is over, I can._ After he let of her hand, another thought entered her mind. **Carina Sanders.** That made her smile. _He will be so preoccupied with her that he won’t think of anything else and Leia and Marion will be so invested in their spouses, that they won’t think twice about me._

But as soon as those reassuring thoughts came, doubt creeped in as well. Luckily her father sensed it too for he whispered in her ear. “You choose your own fate.”

“I am not sure I can.”

“You can. If you can’t grasp what Obi Wan taught you, then learn from my example. My choices drove me to where we all are today. If I had not strayed from Padme, you and Marion would not have been born and your mother would have been married to Tommen, and the Emperor would have never risen to power. At least that is what the Naberries believe.”

“What do you believe?” Jane Kyra asked lowly as Luke kept walking ahead of them, not interested in their conversation.

“The Emperor learned from the best schemer.” Anakin told her, recounting the tale of Darth Plagueis as he had told him in the opera house all those decades ago. “He would have risen to the top regardless of what I had done, but you and your siblings would not have been faced with this situation. With me fighting along the Jedi, he would have been deposed long ago.”

“And we wouldn’t be here, nervous wrecks that we are, hoping we don’t die so our friends don’t have to suffer similar fates.” Jane Kyra finished for him. “Right?”

“Yes. Not everything has to be grim Jane. I know Luke means a lot to you and you mean a lot to him; but you don’t have to be tied with someone if you do not want to. I stayed with Luke’s mother because I felt obligated to. I thought I loved her because I convinced myself that it was our destiny to be together. We were both young and tired of our lives, being together felt exciting. Until I met your mother.” She turned to him for a brief second then returned her yes to the path Luke was leading them to.

“Your mother wasn’t just beautiful, she was real. When I met Padme I was a boy of nine. She was perfect. I called her an angel and she laughed. She found me interesting. We seemed perfect for one another but we were in love with made up figures. I loved Padme because I idolized her and thought she was an angel, and Padme thought I was the chosen one just like everyone else. We never knew each other, other than what we allowed each other to see.”

“I can relate to that.” Jane said and she didn’t have to explain to her father whom she meant.

“Luke is a good man and he will make Carina very happy. I don’t doubt that. You have to walk your own path.” He grinned seeing her surprised look. “I was a Jedi for many years and after that a Sith lord. I can sense many things.”

“So you know I have been talking to my uncle?”

“Yes and I would have liked for you to tell me. You can trust me. I haven’t been a good example for you and Luke and I regret doing what I did, but I won’t apologize since that won’t solve everything and I know either of you don’t want that.” Anakin said.

He added: “Your uncle was a good man. I never knew he was related to you, but now that I do, it explains a lot of things.”

“He didn’t know he was related to me either, although he told me he always suspected he and I shared a special connection. That is why he came to visit me and not Luke. He told me to forge my own path, same as you but I am afraid that if I leave Luke, he will be angry at me and loose his way. The Jedi mean everything to him.”

“They meant a lot to me too. But if Luke feels that is his destiny, let him. He must learn to let go. If he truly loves you, then he will understand why you must go.”

“Luke does love me.” Jane Kyra defended him. “It is just that … it has not been easy on him. He feels he must carry the weight of the galaxy on his shoulders and he has great plans for the new academy. He wants everyone to be trained, not just Force-sensitive, but everyone and he wants to find out more about the Jedi, including where the first temple was at, so he can learn from their mistakes and train a new generation that will safeguard the galaxy from any future evils.”

“It will be grand.” She added, paraphrasing from what her brother had often said.

“It will.” Anakin believed that. “But he doesn’t need you to be with him all the time. He must let you go and if he can’t, then you must go. You do not have to feel obligated Jane. If you don’t want to remain then don’t. Choose. Do not make the same mistakes your mother and I did.”

Jane Kyra weakly nodded. Her father’s words should have been enough for her but their comfort vanished once Luke turned to her and grabbed her hand again, telling her the Imperial base was less than a mile away. He wants reassurance and I can sense my father is saying ‘no’ ‘Be your own person’. But how can I be my own person when Luke needs me. When everyone needs me to be their hero?

Turning to her, she smiled broadly, saying she was ready.

Anakin sighed. He hated seeing their children so lost and forlorn. More than that, he hated seeing history being repeated. “ ** _Even if your intentions are good, they can be the cause of great problems_** , **_Snips”_** He had told Ashoka when she had been her apprentice. He wished he could tell Luke and Jane that. But they were adults, even if he didn’t approve of their choices. He couldn’t stand in their own way. _They have to learn the hard way so they can get back on their own two feet without the help of anyone._

It seemed though, as the Skywalkers were as he once boasted to Dooku, slow learners. Headstrong, emotional and unwilling to take ‘no’ for an answer.


	51. The Return of the Jedi at a Great Human Cost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As our heroes mobilize their ships against the second death star and the star destroyers, the Skywalkers are haunted by visions of the past, and are forced to pay a high price to see justice brought back to the galaxy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of the dialogue is taken from the novelization of Return of the Jedi and there are also tie-ins to the old and new canon of SW.

_“Come into the sun again_  
and let your body turn  
rhythm of this troubling heart is beating like a drum  
It beats for you, it bleeds for you …  
for it is the drum of drums  
it is the song of songs  
Once I had the rarest rose  
that ever bloomed …  
Oh loneliness, oh hopelessness  
to search the ends of time  
for there is in no other world  
no greater love than mine   
…  
Be Mine Forever  
Be Mine Forever   
Be Mine Forever  
Be Mine Forever  
…  
Let me be the one to keep you from the cold  
now the floor that heaven’s lay with stars as bright as gold  
oh they shine for you  
they burn for all to see  
come into the sun again  
set the spirit free  
…

 _Be Mine Forever_  
Be Mine Forever  
Be Mine Forever  
Be Mine Forever”  
~Love Song for a Vampire by Karliene

_“People don’t arrive broken … these people still have hope …. That’s the difference between us, you came to this because we all deserve punishment …”_

**_~Lucifer in Lucifer 2x03_ **

_“Many times since I have called Marius. But there was no answer. Just the endless procession of days, months, years. My teacher left to my darkest lesson: that in the end we are alone and there is nothing but the dark, cold wasteland of eternity.”_

**_~Lestat in Queen of the Damned (2001)_ **

****

Mary watched her son play with his new friends. Wicket made him a doll with a necklace of stones that his tribe considered sacred. He made hand gestures that meant to tell him the doll was more like a totem and it would protect him from any evil.

“What do you say Ben?” Mary said, sitting on the floor of the hut that was comfortable thanks to the skin pelts underneath. She put Ben on her knee.

“Thank you. It is beautiful. I will take it wherever I go.” Ben said to Wicket with a smile.

Wicket giggled and petted the boy’s head then turned and went on his way to check on his best friend, Princess Leia.

“I like him mommy.” Ben said when Catherine entered. “He is funny and he listens to all my stories and loves my drawings and he gave me this!” He showed her the doll.

“That is beautiful mi amor, did you tell him thanks?”

Ben nodded. “I did. Bella reminded me. Mommy, is Anakin going to come any time soon so I can show him this?”

Catherine looked at Mary who looked troubled by the question.

“I am sure he will be back soon. And he will come with many treats.”

Ben was happy to hear that. Mary put him to sleep in a crib-like bed the Ewoks had made for him. It was made of wood, bones and other materials and it was cozy, so Ben didn’t have to worry about being cold.

“This is such a nice place.” Mary said as she watched her son sleep.

“It is. But you must not let him out of your sight. Those things nearly ate your offspring.”

“I know but it got settled thanks to Jane and Luke.”

At the mention of them, Catherine became concerned. The jewel in Mary’s neck shined a bright red. She wondered if what Obi Wan had told her about his bloodline possessing great but dangerous power was true. Mary was after all the river goddess incarnate and Anakin Skywalker, chosen one or not, was a being created out of manipulation of the Force. There was no telling what Jane or Marion could become later in life. Or their children.

The thought of more Skywalkers frightened her. If they were anything like their patriarch, it would be pure chaos.

“What are you thinking, mother? You seem pensive.”

“I worry that you rely too much on others. You still haven’t considered what I said.”

“I have and I stand by my words. When this is over, Anakin and I will leave with Ben to raise him together and you won’t have to worry about us any longer.”

“You do not have to go too far. I am sure that we can find a way to grant you a pardon-“

Mary interrupted her. “You know that isn’t going to happen mother. Not in a million, not even in a billion years. The rebel alliance thinks I do not deserve to be here. They have wanted to kill Anakin ever since he defected from the Empire. After the Empire is brought down, he and I will be the first people they will prosecute and declare guilty and in an effort to appease the population, they will also execute us.”

“Nonsense. Do not be paranoid. You and Anakin can provide important information about the remaining Imperials. Because there are always sectors that will refuse to bow down to the new order. With your knowledge you can help the new republic bring them down and bring the culprits to justice.”

“It would not change a thing. And it would just lead to more bloodshed. Anakin and I have had enough of it.” She took her mother’s hands. “I now understand why you hated Bella. She was everything that you didn’t want in a daughter. You wanted someone strong, decisive like your mother but I am not like Isabella of Castile, I never have been -even when I was Inquisitor0 and I never will.”

“I know and I do not intend you to be but I want you to think for yourself and not stay with that man. Look into his eyes, Mary. There is nothing there.”

“You are wrong. Anakin has changed and he will be with me, by my side until I die.”

Catherine pushed Mary’s hands away. “Do what you want then, but don’t come crying on my shoulder, when he hurts you -and mark my words he will.” She said then turned around and left.

Mary sighed. Why did her mother have to make things so complicated? Looking down at Ben, she gave a small, sad smile. “I wish you could call me mommy.” She said lowly. “I love you so much Ben. You, Jane Kyra, Marion, and Owen are my life. Without you, I am nothing.”

She kissed his forehead then sat down on the warm floor and bowed her head down and prayed.

Outside the guest hut was her son whose party had just arrived. He was happy to be reunited with his rebel colleagues and find the golden team (as he called Han, Leia, Luke, Jane, Marion and Doreah) made friends with the locals.

He was disappointed that Vader wasn’t present. He would have loved to seen the man and his mother together along with his little brother so they could see Lya again. She was three months pregnant and could already feel the baby kick. _“He is going to be a strong one like his daddy?”  
“What makes you think it is a he, sweetheart?”_ He had asked. __  
“It is obvious, isn’t it? No girl can kick that strong unless she is aiming where the suns don’t shine.” Was her response.

He loved Lya’s dark humor. _Where would I be without it?_ Ned and Bess as always went back and forth about some theological nonsense with the latter trying to convert him and the former proving her wrong.  
_Just pop the question already!_ He wished that Ned would just ask Elizabeth if she wanted to be his wife, or better yet, for Elizabeth to ask the question. It seemed ridiculous that the two were so in love with each other but didn’t want to be joined in matrimony.

 _It’s the best thing ever_ , he wanted to say to them. Passion-filled nights every day and no rest.

But some people loved things to be complicated. If that is what worked for them, he was not going to interfere with the way they handled their relationship.

He saw his mother whispering something to his baby brother. Using the Force, he could sense her distress and surmised she was lamenting that she could not tell him the truth. But then came hope as she sat on the floor and prayed.

Not wanting to disturb her, he turned away and went down to the guest hut he and Lya and his company, including Bess, Ned and Mary Stuart, were staying at.

Lya had a small toy the Ewoks had given to her. Or more precisely -as Lya told him- their priests had given to her as a good luck charm for her unborn child.

Owen rolled his eyes at this. “You should throw it away or sell it to the black market. The gangs of the lower sectors of Coruscant will pay a fortune for this.”

“I’d have better luck in the wastelands in the outer rim, but I will take my chances and keep it because I like the colors the furry friends of the forests painted on it.” She said. “Blue and grey are my favorite colors.”

“I can see that.” Mary Stuart said somewhat sarcastically. Grey and black were the colors of the Stark House while red and black were of the Targryens, but Lya had always had a fondness for blue and black as it reminded her of her favorite figure in Westeros before the Empire, the dragon queen, her aunt, Daenerys Targaryen. The “mother of dragons” as she was known always dressed in blue and used black whenever she was ready to do battle and burn her enemies.  
Lya’s battle suit when she had been in the Empire was blue and grey with black metallic gloves. Her long and straight black hair made her look more innocent -that is until her opponents faced her and they realized how ferocious she was.

“Bess, do you think you can weave something out of these materials these Ewoks have and use their dye to make it Blue and Grey?”

“I can sure try but it won’t be easy. You’d have to ask them or Leia, or better yet your mother in law, because they seem to have taken a liking to all you three.”

“They are so odd aren’t they but also so welcoming. Proof, that good manners still work.”

“More like good skills.” Ned retorted. “The Ewoks befriend those whom they do not perceive as a threat or respect because of their murderous skills. You my sister are a warrior and even in your condition, they can see that you are a warrior.”

“They have good judgment then.” Lya said with a triumphant smile to her brother which made him scowl. “Cheer up Ned, they might think you are a good warrior too if you smiled more often and didn’t belittle anyone with your boring sermons of ‘how I am right’.”

“She got you there, Ned.” Owen said with a chuckle.

“Like you can throw a punch. Our first match and you couldn’t raise your fists at me because you were worried my father’s priestess would curse you.”

“Hey, your father’s red woman is scary as fuck. And it is not my fault to be scared, it is a rational thing when you kept telling me how she burned people and smiled while doing it and would do the same to anyone who would harm you.”

“Yeah as a joke. You take things too seriously sometimes.” Ned said, slapping his friend’s back. After everyone was done laughing, they got to the command room which was the bigger hut in the Ewoks’ village. Leia and Marion communicated with the rest of the ships who were going to pull from lightspeed a little longer than expected, delaying their attack so the troopers on the ground would not expect a thing.

“By the time they get here, the reflector shield will be deactivated allowing them to blow up the death star and destroy their battle ships.” Leia said.

“From the other Ewok villages near the area, we have learned that the Imperial base changes guards every two hours which gives us a weapon of an hour at most before they note something suspicious.” Marion added pointing to the several guards stationed outside the base. “This was taken from yesterday from one of our scouts. Corporal Eddard, what can you tell us about these men?”

On cue, Ned stepped forward and made the image larger. “Their names are Janis Ava-Tuko and Masto Ak. They were two of our many sparring partners at the academy. My sister and I defeated them at every turn so you won’t have any problem when it comes to hand on hand combat but they know how to operate the AT-Ts better than anyone so your best chance at taking them down will be before they get in those things.”

“Got it. Ned and Owen will be in charge of taking them down while the rest of us will work on creating another distraction that will force their personnel out of the base. Everyone, must remember their training and not let their guard down for a second. Just because we have a plan doesn’t mean it will work. We must accept the possibility of something going wrong, whether it is our blasters malfunctioning or a last minute change to the base’s rotation. Everyone must be on their guard at all times.”

Everyone nodded. They didn’t need to be told twice. Everyone had lost someone or something important. If what Princess Leia said was true, this meant they had to give their best effort or else everything they sacrificed would have been in vain.

Before Leia and Marion left to their guest huts Lya caught up with them. “What is it Corporal?”

“You made me and Ned a Corporal and Owen a Captain.”

“Yes, is there something wrong with that?”

“None at all. Owen has earned it and I have been with you less so I understand your hesitation to promote me and Ned to a higher post despite the countless times we have proven ourselves to you.”

“Get to the point, Corporal.” Marion said.

Lya grinned. If she were not so grouchy, the two of us might be friends. But like Princess Leia, she was so stubborn and so full of herself. “I want to fight. This is my fight as much as it is yours and you need me. Face it, no other knows how to take these fiends as I can.”

“Fiends? You speak as if this is a game lady Targaryen. You forget yourself before me and Princess Leia. This is not another one of your amusements. This is real life and if we fail, everything we would have fought for would have been for naught.”

“That is a good speech for when you are on the Live Net and you and Leia advertise your victory in front of crowds of millions who have swallowed your every word, but I am afraid this is not then, this is now and as it is, I am not one of your followers. I stuck by you because Ned and I have no choice and because Owen trusts you. And because he does, I do not want to see him die.”

Marion looked at Leia. Leia nodded. “Very well, Lady Targaryen. You will be fighting with us but I will not put you at the front. I will not risk something happening to your child.” The Princess said.

“Thank you, Your Highness. I will not disappoint you.” Lya said, going to the guest hut she shared with her friends, husband and sibling.

“She is stubborn as hell.” Marion said. “Are you sure we can trust her? If something happens to her, Owen will never forgive us.” Especially me. He was anxious to blame Marion at the first glance at trouble _. I do not want to give him a good reason to_. So far he had done nothing but his job _-although reluctantly_ -she thought angrily.   
As much as she hated his guts, she didn’t wish any ill on his wife and much less his unborn child who was blameless for his parents’ sins.

“You worry too much Marion. She will be fine. If she is as she claims, the dragon and wolf’s scion, it should be her opponents we should be sorry for.”

* * *

As soon as they surrendered themselves to the Empire, Luke turned to Jane. He gave her a reassuring look but it did little to calm her.

“It is going to be fine.” He told her. “I promise. No one will harm you.”

His promise didn’t extend to their father. Anakin didn’t say anything until they boarded the Imperial shuttle that would take them to the second death star. “You have your mother’s spirit.” He told Luke. “She was a good woman and she wanted me to do the right thing and I didn’t want to listen.”

“I don’t have any recollection of my mother. Leia remembers her but I can’t except in dreams and even then I never fully see her.” There was accusation in his voice that he didn’t miss. Anakin tried to explain to Luke why he did the things he did but he failed miserably as in Luke’s mind -like his mother- he had a choice. “You could have come clean to the Jedi just like Ben could have revealed the truth about lady Mary’s parentage and his liaison with her mother. You didn’t because you were afraid of being kicked out and having to come home to your wife, feeling like a failure, like a bum but she would have accepted you anyway because she loved you.”

“That is where you are wrong, Luke. She didn’t love me, neither did I love her. At least not the way that I was supposed to love her.”

At this Luke knit his eyebrows.

Anakin smirked. Despite his anger and the darkness looming inside him, he is still a child. Naïve, spoiled, without an idea of how hard life is for a man who’s never been in charge of his life.  
Luke, as he saw it, had the love of his aunt and uncle -and his sister. Jane Kyra was entirely devoted to him. If there was a god, and he asked for one of them to give his or her life for the other, Jane would be the first one to volunteer. The boy had lived a sheltered life in Tatooine. Times were hard and he didn’t live like a Princess or an entitled lady like his twin and half-siblings, but he had food and a roof above his head which was more than half the people in their galaxy could ask for.  
Not him though. Anakin was born a slave and didn’t know freedom until he became a Jedi. That is until he learned that he was still a slave, bound by the Jedi code and the council’s mercy. He hardly had any friends. He tried to do his best, excelled at every lesson, including the hardest forms of fencing which had previously been mastered by Mace Windu. People cheered his name _“Anakin!” “Anakin!”_ and on the planets he helped freed from Trade Federation control, they shouted even louder _“the hero with no fear has come to save us all!”_  
Little kids, including padawans lined up to sign their booklets or the back of their data-pads. _“He has no fear.”_ They said when he turned his back and when he turned it back, with _toothy smiles they told him “We want to be just like you when we grow up! You know no fear.”_

 _But he did._ And it was that which made him turn to the dark side, abandon his morals and become the monster the few of those kids that survived, learned to fear and hate.

And now my son and daughter run the risk of going down the same path.

“Your mother was a Queen when I met her. I was a slave of nine working at Watto’s junk shop, my last slave master. He owned my mother as well and compared to our other masters, he was … benevolent. He let me come in ten minutes late and leave before the suns went down, and he pretended not to look when I went to ‘look’ for spare parts. Your mother arrived a year after I crashed my second pod race at the Boontha Eve.”

“You raced pods?” Luke asked with an arched eyebrow. It was very hard for people to race, let alone a human and a child at that!

“It was a different time. Slavery was legal in the outer rim and my mother didn’t like it, but we needed the money and I wanted to help her. I had ambitions that if I raced and won, then I would gather enough to buy our freedom.”

Luke had heard about the terrible times when slavery had been legal in their home town but he never imagined it was this bad. He had to ask, since his father made him curious. “Jane heard from one of our friends whose parents used to be slaves that they used to put chips.”

Anakin nodded. “I built a localizer to locate mine but they were hard to track and after my second failed attempt, Watto kept me more days at the junkyard. I thought I would never get out of that dusty rock …”

Luke grinned at that turning to Jane Kyra who grinned back. He remembered when he said the same thin to her after they encountered C-3PO and R2-D2.

“… but alas, there was your mother with her Jedi friend and awkward gungan exile and astromech droid. R2 was very receptive towards me. I had never encountered such loyalty in a droid and he was very protective around your mother too. When the four of us were alone after Qui Gon and my master were discussing parts for his ship, I was stunned. When the suns’ light hit her face, it was like I was staring at an angel and I asked her if she was one. She turned and looked at me like I had lost my mind then laughed and I thought I was just a boy. After I invited them to stay with me and my mom, I convinced them to persuade Watto to make me race so I could help them. Being free or surviving no latter mattered to me. I just wanted to make her happy. She was unlike anyone I had ever seen and her kindness made her seem more beautiful. When I learned that Qui Gon persuaded Watto free me, I was hesitant to leave but my mother convinced me. That night, when I was aboard her fixed ship, she came to me and said that we would always be friends and she would always be there to defend me and I gave her a necklace I fashioned out of local wood. I never forgot our promise. Among my many missions with Obi Wan, I encountered countless species of females who were beautiful and exotic, but none could compare to her.”

“Then what happened? Why did you fall out of love with her?”

“Because I realized that the woman I had fallen in love with was a mirage. An illusion. Padme realized that too, but she was made of stronger stuff than I am. She had a conservative set of morals that she was not about to abandon. She put her career on the line to marry me, just as I did, she was not about to give up on our union so easily so when she accepted that our marriage was on the rocks, she confronted me and Mary on Tatooine after we visited my mother’s grave and gave me an ultimatum.” She turned to Jane Kyra who looked shaken by all of this.

“If I could go back I would have chosen your mother and come clean about everything but I was weak. I stuck to my dreams. We both did, and we were unaware of how much we hurt those around us, including your mother.” He was now looking at the two of them. “I promised I would never leave Padme but I fell in love with Mary. She was flawed, imperfect, sleepless, strong and a klutz at times but she was more real than my imagined version of Padme and the two of us were happy until I was reminded of my vows. I was a coward. I didn’t want to admit my feelings to your mother, Luke because I was afraid of the consequences and I didn’t want to tell the Jedi of what I had done for the same reason.”

“But you stayed in the end, you could have continued staying.”

“I know. I am only human Luke. You do not see it yet, but someday you will and I pray that when that day comes, the darkness won’t consume you the same way it did with you. My love for Padme was obsession over perfection. She was tired of her responsibilities; she was constantly pressured by her family to marry and have children and although she feared the idea of marriage, a part of her felt jealous. Before we conceived you and Leia, she told me that part of the reason why she married me was because I was the first boy she brought to her parents’ house whom they agreed, and she felt jealous of her sister and wanted a semblance of a normal life like the one her sister had.”

“So that is all your marriage was then? A lie?”

“Your mother and I tried to love each other as we were but …”

“You couldn’t.” Jane Kyra finished for him. “You preferred to life a lie over accepting the truth because you were afraid of being alone.”

Anakin gave a slow nod. His daughter understood more than she let on. _For personal experience_. Despite how that should make him feel better, it created the opposite feeling in him.  She saw no end to her life, except with Luke. He is her life but she is not his. She is there because he wants her and she is there because she needs him.

“I was not a good husband to either one of your mothers. I love Mary, truly. With all her flaws and all the baggage, I love her and I intend to be a father to Ben.”

“Lucky boy.” Luke said with a hint of sarcasm and sadness.

“I won’t ask for an apology from either of you or your siblings because I know I won’t get it and at this point, it is useless. I am who I am, and I am not blameless. But that is life, it is cruel, unfair and without justice except the one we make for ourselves.” Anakin said. “But I will hope that you heed my advice and look out for one another and respect each other’s wishes.” He looked at the two of them intently.

“You do not have to say that. Jane and I will always be together and after we resurrect the Jedi, we will continue to help our friends to create a better republic than before.”

“I believe you Luke but be careful. Do not put too much faith in dreams. Sooner or later, you will wake up and find that your dream is just that, a dream, an illusion.”

* * *

 

_“Will you be mine?” Mary asked a grumpy looking Anakin. He rolled his eyes. She led him unto the center of her room and the two did a mock dance which her half-sister watched with interest, encouraging Mary with her constant clapping._

_“Don’t. I am making an arse of myself.” Anakin groaned when his pleas went unheard and Mary whispered in his ear that he’d just have to put up with it._

_“It’s the price you pay for marrying me, honey.” She said._

_After Bess was put to bed, the two had the room to themselves. “Are you afraid of tomorrow?” She asked him after he turned his naked back to her. She moved closer, and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Do not be shy, fly boy.”_

_“Do not try to be funny, Your Highness. It does not suit the behavior of a Princess.”_

_“I am not a Princess anymore. I am your wife and I am happier as the wife of an accomplished Jedi Knight and chosen one than the Princess of a thousand kingdoms.”_

_Anakin grinned. “Sometimes I do think of the future and I am afraid. People shout ‘hero without fear’ but there is much fear in me.”_

_“I hope that when my father finds out he understands, but this war is far more complicated. Perhaps after you win it, then we can tell everyone the truth and as the savior of the republic, people will accept our union.”_

_“Yes, yes they will.” He said, his voice distant as he thought of the ‘angel’ waiting for him on Coruscant. How was he going to tell her the truth? That he had married another woman and was sleeping with her behind her back? Padme was his angel, but like those beings from legend, she felt distant and the two had begun to grow colder to one another and things were not the same since she saw him kill her old flame, Paolo after he tried to do the same to her._   
_Padme wasn’t the jealous type, but who knew what one would do when she saw someone she treasured and represented stability being lost to someone whom she would consider not only inferior, but also immoral._

**~o~**

Mary awoke. She asked one of the rebels who remained at the Ewok village where everyone was. He told her that they had gone to their respective missions. Mary nodded and went back to Ben. He looks so peaceful. In his hand was the toy that Anakin had given him.

 _He will be a pilot one day like him._ She brought her fingers to the jewel in her neck. It was warm and it glowed brighter when she took a pocket mirror from her bag. When Sansa wanted to rip it from her choker, red sparks flew from it, causing Sansa to jump back in fright. An angry finger flew in her direction and she was accused of being a “witch.” At the time, she was still too disoriented to make out what she was saying but one thing was clear to her. The word ‘witch’ had a negative connotation, so she immediately appealed to her tormentor by saying ‘I am not a witch’. But her defense fell on deaf ears. Although no one troubled her after her father scared her next tormentors, people still looked at her with distrust. They were convinced she had dark powers like Jon’s wife, the lady Melisandre.

Mary had asked her father before he gave her the jewel if it would protect her from evil, he simply responded by saying yes, adding that it was a family heirloom and it would guide her through difficult times. It certainly had, but she had no idea how to control it.

She got down on the floor, took the pillow underneath Ben’s crib and placed it under her head, then slept. Before she drifted into the land of Morpheus, she mentally prayed to the Almighty to keep her children, Anakin and unborn grandchild safe.

* * *

Lya punched one of the troopers that tried to kill her brother. “Not on my watch, guy.” She said knocking him unconscious. She could have killed him easily but it was more fun taking prisoners and humiliating them. Killing is too sudden. Takes the fun out of everything. She extended a hand to her brother. He took it and scowled at her when she remarked he was getting too slow and it was probably due to his distraction aka Bess Tudor.

“Show off.” He told her.

“Where are the others?” He asked her looking around. He hated losing sight of Bess, Mary Stuart and the rest. “They said that they were going to reach the Imperial base. I hope I didn’t miss the action.”

“Worry not brother, you did not. Leia, Marion and Han have taken the troopers by surprise. The base will be ours in no time. Let’s go, we do not want to miss the looks of shock from our daddy’s friends.”

He shook his head. It was now his turn to grin at her. However when they got there they found that Leia, Marion and Han and the Wookie were taken outside, surrounded by Stormtroopers and smug imperial officers.

“They knew we were coming. Damn! I knew this was too easy. I told that Princess that we had to be more sure. Now we are never going to get in.” Ned hissed.

Lya wanted to say something but she felt just as angry as her brother. If only that smug Princess and her angry sister had listened to her brother. They had not been named the best in their class without good reason. She looked around and spotted Bess hidden behind one of the trees next to the two droids and Mary Stuart.

“Lya, where you are going?”

Lya turned to him and gave him a knowing smile. “I have a plan. Follow me.”

He was not going to ask her what that was. Spontaneity was his sister’s best tool. It was what made her one of Brendol Hux’ star pupils. She was a good listener and a fast thinker. When protocol was thrown out the window, many were stuck, not knowing what to do. Except for his sister. His sister always knew what to do, and she gave commands to some of their roughest peers who were twice her age and twice her size. The way she conducted herself made them forget about their male pride and heeded her commands without questions.

 _If these rebels install their new government without much trouble, I wonder if they will make my sister one of the leading officers of their new troops_. It would be the logical choice. His sister knew more about war than half of the new recruits who were pampered students, fresh from the Academies who were far too idealistic. His sister had seen war, she could do what they were unable to, and give commands without hesitating or thinking about the moral implications behind each one.

 _What about me?_ He on the other hand, would seek something else. A position in the military would be great. He could see himself pursuing a military career, but he also longed for something else. Elizabeth often spoke about building a life together but he didn’t see the two of them living under the same roof as husband and wife the way his sister and best friend lived. _It wouldn’t be real._ Bess was smart and although religious, she was practical and wanted to become a politician so she could help her fellow terrestrials.

He could see her, speaking before the Senate, passionately arguing against corruption, while dealing with many of those she denounced, and gaining the upper hand at every turn. _She is her parents’ daughter after all. But something is different about her._ Otherwise he wouldn’t have stuck by her _. Or maybe I am just a fool in love._

The men in his family were known to be fools. Perhaps he had fallen under Bess’ spell the way her father fell under her mother’s, and his love for her was blinding him to the truth. Even if that was so, he wouldn’t give it up. Bess filled the void that the death of his unborn child had left in his heart.

Bess did not have a blaster but Mary Stuart did. Bess preferred terrestrial weapons because she told Ned that she could inflict more pain unto her opponents -those she believed deserved death for their sins against their fellow men. Her hand moved closer to it as he and Lya came and the latter began discussing her plan. At the end, Bess and Mary nodded.

“When do we start?” She asked Lya eagerly.

“Now.” Lya said winking at one of the Ewoks who nodded and led some of his friends to an AT-T walker. They with Chewbacca, took the troopers inside by surprise and in no time, the imperial walker was theirs.

“Nice going.” Mary Stuart said putting her blaster back in her holder, glad she didn’t have to use it. “Now what? Storm the castle?”

“You read my mind.” Lya said then turned to Bess and Ned. “You two come with me. Brother, let’s show them what royals can do.”

Ben and Ned smiled and ran forward while the droids remained where they were at.

* * *

 

General Jer-Jerrod threw a smug look to Vader. In return, the former lord of the Sith scowled at him. “You can scowl all you wish Lord Vader but your anger won’t help you now. It’s not you who s in charge now. Lord Targaryen. Take these three to the Emperor.” He motioned to  Jon who looked at Anakin with guilty eyes.

“Don’t worry.” He told Jon once he escorted him to his former master’s chamber. “I do not blame you. You should be happy. If we die, your offspring are safe, if we do not, then they are safe either way.”

“I know.” Jon said. Since he had seen their ship dock on the second death star, he sighed. Arthur wanted to have the pleasure to see them, especially Katherine’s granddaughter and brag to her how good it felt to have her mother cower before him, and humiliated not just by him, but by her grandmother as well. But Jon reminded him of his assignment. Should something happen to him, it was imperative that Arthur made it out so he could ensure their offspring’s and unborn grandchild’s well-being.

Somehow, something told Jon as he looked at his friend and his son and daughter, that neither of them were going to make it out of this alive.

“Are you going to stay with us after the Emperor sees us?” Jane Kyra asked him.

“Yes, young Skywalker. The Emperor wants to test my loyalty and see what he has in store for you and your friends.”

Jane Kyra nodded and looked ahead. She felt her brother clutching her hand again. His eyes impassive, his face serious. He betrayed nothing, but she knew better. He was afraid. Very afraid. And so was she. What if I fail? Vader sensed their distress and told them “Whatever happens, do not give into your fear. Accept it, embrace it but don’t let it dominate you.”

“Master Yoda told us something similar although he said that fear makes us weak.” Luke told their father.

Anakin shook his head. “Fear is what makes us human, what makes us what we are. It is normal to be afraid. Confronting it is what makes us stronger. Acknowledging what we are and not letting that control us. You are in control, not your fears.”

Jane Kyra gave a weak nod then looked at her brother.

Anakin wished that she did not have to do that. _There is too much fear in her. More than Luke. She has convinced herself that there is no way out of her life. There is. But she has to have courage._ Otherwise, she would be stuck with Luke forever, the same way he felt obliged to stay with Padme and vice-verse.

 _It is the Force bond_ -was his first thought when he watched the two of them interact with one another after he and Mary made their first escape. But now he knew better. It wasn’t the Force bond, it was Luke. Luke. He convinced her that he needed her with his over-sentimentality, appealing to the better part of herself that would be unable to say ‘no’ to the poor and helpless, confused boy.

And the boy doesn’t even know he is manipulating her. He smirked as the door of the elevator opened and they were face to face with the Emperor’s personal guards. The sight of them made many men tremble as soon as they saw their red robes and their long, thin white staffs.

As they moved aside at Jon’s command, Anakin turned to Jon who lowered his gaze. They were now face to face with the Emperor. Jon told them to come closer. They did until the Emperor told them to stop.

“My old friend. It has been so long.”

It was a scene of pandemonium. Silent, crystalline explossions surrounded by green, violet, on magenta auras. Luke, Jane Kyra and Vader could see the Rebel fleet had arrived on the window behind the Emperor’s mobile throne. But something was wrong. The deflector shields had not been taken down.

It was a trap.

The Emperor sensed their shock and terror, especially in Anakin’s offspring and cackled, his eyes shined with glee.

“Oh I am afraid that they will find this battle station very operational.” He said. He turned to Jon “Grand Moff Targaryen here sent his wife and mother-in-law away. You doubt this station’s power.”

“I do not, Your Highness. I believe in your success as much as my wife does, it is why I came to beg you to forgive my son and daughter and lord Tudor’s son.”

“Aye, you did but … like your adoptive father, you are a bad liar Grand Moff Targaryen. You doubt my power and the love you have for your friend betrays you. I can feel the conflict within you. You will sooner strike me down then betray your principles. It is what makes you weak.”

Jon said nothing more and lowered his head again. He hated being called weak but he was not about to attempt to kill the only man who had the power to absolve his offspring and Arthur’s of their sins. The gods will know if it was his destiny to die or live on, continuing to rule over the galaxy and beyond. Either way, his children would be safe, that was all that mattered.

“Lord Vader, Anakin Skywalker, chosen one … hero without fear. How many, many coats have you worn?” Anakin did not open his mouth. “And all have one thing in common, they have all been sown with the needle of treachery. You are nothing but a traitor Lord Vader, slave to your feelings just like Targaryen here but I will make you a greater offer that you will not be unable to refuse.”

“And what is that?” Anakin asked steadily, his eyes cold, devoid of any emotion but the Emperor knew him long enough to know what was in his heart.

“Help me turn your son and daughter here to the dark side the same way I turned you and I will make sure that my troops spare your other offspring and give their spouses a merciful death.”

“No! You can’t!” Jane Kyra burst out while Luke turned to his father, his eyes shot up in alarm.

“You cannot. Your over confidence is your weakness and mark my words, our friends will find a way and turn us all into dust.”

“Your confidence in your friends is yours.” The Emperor snapped at the youth. Luke Skywalker was created in the image of his father while his half-sister who was raised as his twin sister was the mirror image of him and his father had they been born female. _She is powerful, very powerful_. But she is a nervous wreck. Moral to a fault. There was darkness in her, but being clouded by delusions of morality prevented her from giving herself to that great power. The boy on the other hand wasn’t afraid to do it, if it meant saving the ones he loved.

And there is that bond the two share. He cackled. “I can sense you want to strike me down. Do it with the lightsabers you and your sister constructed.” He commanded then added taking Vader’s sith lightsaber. “Better yet, do it with your father’s. Like father, like son.”

“Do not do it Luke. Remember what I said.” Anakin said but Luke didn’t hear him. His focus was on the battle outside where many rebel ships were being destroyed. He could sense their deaths and despair.

I cannot let it end this way. He told Jane Kyra through the mental connection they shared. No -she responded. Listen to our father.

I am sorry Jane but I must. It is now or never! Luke retorted and before she could stop him, his lightsaber flew from the Emperor’s robe to his hand and was about to strike him when Vader’s lightsaber shot into his hand and blocked the killer blow that Luke was about to deliver to his former master.

“Let me kill him!”

“You are better than this son. He wants you to strike him down so you can continue the Sith Order. Show him that you are better. Show me you are better than me.”

“Out of my way.”

“Luke, listen to him.” Jane Kyra said.

“Listen to me and your sister. You cannot let your feelings overpower you. A true Jedi’s strength flows from his ability to control his feelings and use his head.”

Luke didn’t hear him, he gave a telekinetic push to his father sending him flying backwards. The Emperor roared with laughter. Jon went to his friend’s side. “I am fine. You must help me Jon.” Anakin begged him.

“I cannot. If the Emperor wins-“

“He will not. He must not. This is our only chance. We did a lot of mistakes, we cannot let our children turn like us.”

But Jon was unwilling to help him so Vader got up on his own. When he walked to Luke he found both siblings locked in a deadly fight.

“Out of the way Jane!”

“No! Enough is enough. I am sick of your whining and thinking that the whole galaxy revolves around you. I want to help you Luke. You are my brother, my lover, we are connected by more than just blood but I want us to be more than just the sun twins or tools of the Jedi or Sith.”

“It is our destiny!”

“Our destiny is what we make of it. If you believe in what our father says then you will be setting yourself to failure the same way he and my mother did. You are Luke Skywalker, the boy who wanted to fly out of Tatooine and see the galaxy. Do not sink to this monster’s level.”

“Listen to your sister young Skywalker. She wants you out of the way so she can leave you. She is afraid of you.”

“Shut up. I am not afraid of him but I am of you. You manipulated our father and twisted the best of men into becoming monsters. You won’t do the same with us.” She said turning back to him then turned to face Luke again and added: “Do not do this Luke.”

But Luke was unsure. He sent a wave of energy that meant to send her flying but it didn’t. The two equally strong, recreating the battle that their father and her grandfather fought on Mustafar over twenty years before their births, crossed their lightsabers again and again until she punched him and then -to his surprise- turned off her lightsaber and spread her arms. “I am not going to fight you anymore Luke.”

“You are making a big mistake.” Luke said, grinding his teeth. Dark thoughts entered his mind as the Emperor’s words lingered in his minds. Did she want to betray him? Had she found someone else? No, she can’t. She is my sister. She promised she would always be with me! “Do you want to be with me?”

“Of course I do!”

"Then prove it. Help me defeat the Emperor.”

“I am helping you Luke and if you are too blind to see that then he is right about you.”

“I am nothing like him or our father!”

“Are you? You are letting yourself get easily seduced by his lies. You are lost if you think this is not what he wanted from the beginning, to pit us against one another so only one of us would be left standing and  he’d have our father replace with someone younger and far more powerful.”

“She has a way with words like her father.” The Emperor said. “Do not let her pull your strings, young Skywalker. Choose or be played like a fool like your father did with your mother.”

“Do not listen to him Luke. Look at me. The girl who played. Defended you and wasn’t afraid to call out on your mistakes when aunt Beru was soft on you. You might not want to face who we are but I do, and we are Skywalkers, brother and sister. We will always be together. No matter how far we are, we will always have our love to remember one another by.”

“Strike her down boy.”

Anakin was ready to inflict some damage on Luke if he tried something but luckily he didn’t have to as Luke sighed, turned his lightsaber off and put it back in his belt. Jane Kyra gave a weak smile to Luke as she sensed a calm within him after he glanced to his father, specifically at his gloved hand then at his own gloved hand.

Both alike but different. He thought. The two of them were the before and after, but whereas his father could no longer redeem himself, Luke had the chance to do what was right.

He walked to Jane Kyra and the two looked directly at their father’s former Master. “You failed Your Highness.” He said with a proud smile. “We are Jedi like our father before us.”

“So be it, Jedi” He said the last word as if it was poison and raised his hands on them. Lightning flew from his hands and struck them both.

Anakin screamed but was stopped by Jon who took out Longclaw, a Valyrian sword he had inherited from the late Commander of the Night’s Watch, Ser Mormont, and slashed his hand. Since his new metallic hand was made of a stronger alloy which had some of the same properties as Valyrian steel, he didn’t take it off completely but he managed to take off two fingers.

“Is this how it is going to be then Jon? You are going to let him control you?”

“I told you, it is my offspring or you.”

Anakin laughed madly. “I have a few tricks up my sleeve too, old friend.” He said and using his other hand, he gripped his lightsaber tighter than before and slashed Jon across his leg and arm, not severing them but wounding him enough to keep him almost immobile.

Jon struggled to get up. Anakin knew he’d caught up with him. Targaryen and Stark, with the blood of the dragon and being one of the best the Empire had to offer, he battled Anakin again, leaving the two exhausted.

“He is not going to keep his promise. You know that.”

“I have to try, gods damn you.” Jon said, panting heavily delivering another blow which Anakin avoided.

He didn’t want to destroy the sword. It was part of his friend, a remnant of the man he had been before he had been brought back and turned into the monster he was now. But as he heard Luke call on him for help for the first time, like a child asking for their father for comfort, and Jane’s frantic screams, he let go of that worry and slashed the sword in half leaving Jon’s defenseless.

Jon cried watching the last remnant of his past destroyed. Anakin gave him a sorrowful look then headed to the Emperor. He was signing his death sentence _. I know_ -he told his conscience. But I don’t care. Wherever I go, I will find a way to come back to her. He took the Emperor in his arms while he was still electrocuting his children. Ignoring the pain, he gave a mighty roar that became indistinguishable from the Emperor’s screams. It is over. Over. He thought as he threw him threw the giant shaft. A blue mist shot through the air and Vader saw visions of a long forgotten past when the Jedi ruled the galaxy as warriors of the light instead of the defenders of the light and keepers of the mighty they had devolved into.

“Father!” Vader barely heard Jane as he succumbed to exhaustion and fell down. Luke caught him before his head hit the floor.

* * *

Admiral Akbar had stood on the bridge in stunned disbelief, looking out the observation window at the place where, moments before, the Rebel Star Cruiser _Liberty_ had been engaged in a furious long-range battle. Now, there was nothing. Only empty space, powdered with a fine dust that sparkled in the light of more distant explosions. Ackbar had stared in silence.

Around him, confusion was rampant. Flustered controllers were still trying to contact the _Liberty_ , while fleet captains ran from screen to port, shouting, directing, misdirecting. An aide handed Ackbar the comlink. General Calrissian’s voice was coming through.

“We cannot continue like this” Ackbar said. Lando told him that they could still make it but Ackbar was about to call off the entire mission when suddenly the newly made General made his last attempt to strike at one of the Star Destroyer’s tower and to everyone shock and great relief, he did!

“We are still surrounded by too many.” Came the voice of Jane Seymour. The former Queen’s tone was imperious as it had been kinder during her tenure as Henry VIII’s consort.

“If our friends could get the best of the Emperor’s trap, so can we!” General Calrissian responded then added, speaking to everyone. “We have one shot and one shot only. Gold Leader, Blue Leader, follow my lead.”

In Jane Seymour’s ship where the other elders were, she looked to Thomas. He had a lot of experience training many of these young men, and being part of covert operations. He nodded at his sister. So did Anne Boleyn, who said that it was their only shot.

“We all have to die one day.” Thomas added, showing the wicked grin he had that made Jane remember their childhood days, engage in mischief, chasing one another through Wolf Hall’s gardens.

“Go right ahead General. Gold Leader and Blue Leader, follow the Millenium Falcon. The rest of us will cover you.”

The battle that would decide the fate of the galaxy had finally begun and there would be no mercy, no hesitation this time. It was die or kill and after years of enduring the Empire’s cruelty, they would get their revenge.

* * *

Leia had been injured by one of the trooper’s blasters but she quickly recovered. Chewie, Lya, Ned, Mary Stuart and Bess Tudor had maneuvered their way out of the stormtroopers’ watchful eyes and stole an AT-T and forced Leia and Han’s captors to surrender. That had enabled them to put the detonators inside the base that blew it up and made it possible for their friends to find their way inside the core of the Death Star and blow up its other battle stations.

 _Hopefully,_ Han thought. Skeptical that his friend would have any luck. Unlike before, the Emperor was better prepared and with Jane, Luke and Vader facing the greatest monster of them all, they stood almost no chance of defeating the empire.

 ** _But rebellions are built on hope._** Leia said, telling him that it was a phrase she learned from one of the leaders of the _Rogue One_ team who had risked their lives so she could have the plans to the first death star.

_If a band of misfits, traitors, criminals and egotistical beings with no supernatural abilities could get under the Empire’s nose, then so can we._

_We have the sun twins after all._

_We will win. Or die trying. And there is no way in hell I will die easily. I will take as many with me and I know so will Leia and Marion._

Lya tended to one of the injured Ewoks. One of them was crying over one of their fallen friends. Lya felt sad for him. But the furry creature soon let go and moved on to avenge his friend by joining his other companions and rebel soldiers against the remaining Stormtroopers.

Ignoring her pain, Leia joined her sister, and like in old times, they fought their enemies with the aid of their spouses and friends.

* * *

Piett closed his eyes but nothing came. He expected to be engulfed by flames but he found himself instead knocked down, his head bleeding. “What is this?” The red woman towered over him.

“It was not your time.” She said simply.

“How the hell do you know that?” He asked. This made her grin. A mysterious grin, and her jewel glowed a brighter red. _The color of blood_ -he thought.

“Why am I truly here?”

“Before one Tie Fighter sent everyone flying through space, I offered you a drink to celebrate the Rebel Alliance’s end. You took it. Do you remember?”

Now he did. _Damn it._ He should have known better than let himself be tricked by the red haired whore.

“Worry not my dear Admiral. We are aboard the Death Star. My lord needs me.”

“Vader … so he is …”

“No, he is ….” The red witch stopped. Her hand was brought to her heart.

“What is it?” Piett asked, getting back up, seeing the look of shock cross her face.

“He has been injured. Your lord and mine. Their lights are almost extinguished from their bodies.”

“You said the rebel Alliance would perish. Was that another lie? What are you really playing at lady Melisandre?”

“I cannot tell you. But you will know soon enough.” Ignoring the alarms, they raced past the frantic soldiers aboard the death star. The computer’s voice said that the rebel ships were close to the core which if successful, would mean the destruction of the base.

**~o~**

Unaware to the two young adults, the visions that Vader had had after he threw the Emperor down the shaft, were also shared by Jon and the red witch.

Melisandre and Admiral Piett came running towards them as they raced towards one of the Imperial ships.

Jane Kyra and Luke thought that Jon Targaryen should perish among the rest but their father told them, Jon needed to live. They demanded to know why and he told them he had once been like him too. Vader was helped by his son while Jon by Jane Kyra.

“My lord!” Piett shouted, kneeling down to his former master after Luke put him down gently. Jane Kyra looked at him with suspicion but Vader told her to put Jon down and to be at ease.

Luke didn’t feel suspicious as he and his sister had just been saved by their father, and contrary to what his sisters said, his father proved he was the chosen one, killing the emperor and saving his old friend from absolute death.

 _He is the chosen one._ Luke thought, feeling a deep love for him that he hadn’t felt before. He wished that the Force would find a way to save him _. It is not fair_. Just when he saved us, we should lose him.

 ** _Life is not fair,_** he could almost hear Obi Wan saying. _But it should be._ He did not want his father taken from him.

Piett told Vader the Lady Melisandre had saved him. “My lord. We can still save you. The ship has bacta cream and if we can get you to a medical station on time-“

But Vader cut him off putting his hand off. “It is too late for me Piett. You have been a loyal servant. A man of principles. A good soldier. Dutiful …” He coughed. “Like we …” he turned to Jon and another cough escaped his lips and with he spat blood. “… were once.”

Melisandre looked down, feeling her old age for the third time in her centuries of languishing in this galaxy, following one king and another, and then Lord Targaryen.

Jon saw something cross Melisandre’s eyes. “I know that look. What are you thinking my lady?”

“There is a way to save him.” She said, speaking to everyone.

“How?” Luke asked, his voice steady but his eyes as impatient as his sister’s pleas who begged her to do it.

“No.” Vader said. “I know what that method is and I do not want it. Jon, you deserve to see your children and your grandchild.”

“No.” Jon said. “You do. I asked you my lady if I were to fall in battle not to bring me back. You said that it was not up to you, it was your lord’s will. I ask you again. Do not bring me back. Lord’s will or not.”

Melisandre nodded her head.

“Jon, do not be foolish. I have lived my life.”

“No. You have not. You were right Anakin. We are what we do. We are damned by what we did and we will never escape the darkness, but while your time comes, you deserve to enjoy the remainder of your days with your wife … your true wife and her child.” Jon said. He sighed feeling himself growing weaker. “I hated Sansa and her mother with every fiber of my being but our children were miracles. Every day I woke to find them jumping on their beds, playing hide and seek and begging me to watch them spar, I felt like the luckiest man alive. You deserve to know that happiness.” He looked up at Lady Melisandre. “Do it.”

Melisandre gave a grave nod. The red witch asked the two Skywalker youths and Piett to put Vader and Jon next to each other. They did and she got to work her magic. Essence transfer. It was a forbidden art. Anakin Skywalker had done it which had brought his apprentice Ashoka Tano to life by using what remained of the Light Sister’s life-force.

Jon was a Targaryen and a Stark. His song was the song of ice and fire. King’s blood and Gods, his was stronger than the Light Sister, but not as much as Anakin who was a being conceived by the Force. He had to use his abilities too.

Anakin thought of what Jon said. _Are you sure?_ He asked mentally. Jon nodded.

“Tell Lya and Ned the truth. That I died like I lived, doing my duty.” Jon asked his old friend.

Anakin gave a nod. Closing his eyes, he felt the passage of his friend’s life-force to him and tapping into the other energies of the universe, Vader felt stronger.

The ritual finished, Vader opened his eyes. He got up and looked down at his friend. The red witch closed the dead man’s eyes.

“It is done. There is nothing for you here.” She said. “You must leave before they blow the core.”

They all nodded and boarded the Imperial shuttle.

Luke turned to her. “You should come with us.”

“I cannot. I have lived long enough.” She told the young Skywalker. “Be well Luke. Built the Jedi Order. Do it differently, do not do their mistakes.”

Luke swore he would not. Then Melisandre addressed his sister. “Do not be afraid of the darkness. You and your brother have great potential, as long as you embrace it, it will never overpower you.”

She nodded. Melisandre watched as the shuttle took off. The death star gave a terrible tremor. There were still many men and women aboard trying frantically to find whatever escape shuttle or ship they could find. But there were none.

 ** _Death by fire is the purest death._** Is what she had told Stannis, Ser Davos’ son and Davos himself before they died. And Princess Shireen.

As another tremor hit, she remembered the face of the little girl. Screaming, crying for her parents, appealing to their better selves to save her. She watched with glee as she died. **_A girl descended from the Targaryen with King’s blood was necessary_** , she told herself then. She chuckled, remembering how the girl had challenged her on many occasions, and talked about fighting for what was right if she ever got to be in her father’s positions.

She also told her that death by fire was the purest death _. Fire cleanses our sins and it is the greatest gift we can give to the great lord._

Now it was her turn. Closing her eyes, she let the fire engulf her too.

* * *

Arthur coughed blood. It was not supposed to end like this. He watched the Rebels destroy the Death Star and saw some ships escape from the flames before it blew up. He bet everything that Vader, Katherine’s granddaughter and Luke Skywalker were there.

He looked down at the wound in his gut. He laughed. Funny. When he was a Prince, his mother had kissed him and told him how much she loved him. He believed her lies until he realized that it was Harry she loved.

Before everything went to black he saw her again. A gable hood, looking as miserable as she had been when she had been married to her father. “Have you come to gloat?” He asked. His grandmothers, Elizabeth Woodville and Margaret Beaufort appeared there as well.

“My son …” He tried to get away but he was too weak and he had to admit to himself that as he was growing colder, her warm touch, felt good. He fell down and she caught him in her arms. “Your father dreamed that you would be like the King of Camelot and bring about peace and prosperity to his kingdom. He had such high hopes for you.” Elizabeth of York said passing her hand through his blond hairs. “I am so sorry.”

She cradled him until he closed his eyes.

* * *

 

General Calrissian and everyone cheered. Star Destroyers, the death star. All destroyed.

The remaining fleet left. Loyal but not foolish, they had to regroup with what remained. The rebels would fight them again. Of that, there was no doubt. But they’d not be defeated without showing their courage.

To everyone who received the transmission of the outcome of the battle of Endor, it was obvious who was the victor. The battle of Endor as it would be known for centuries to come, would be considered the one that decided the fate of the Empire and the galaxy.

* * *

 

Han was blinding Leia’s arm-wound in a fern dell when the Death Star blew. It captured everyone’s attention, wherever they happened to be -Ewoks, Stormtrooper prisoners, Rebel troops -this final, turbulent flash of self-destruction, incandescent in the evening sky. The rebels cheered.

Leia had not felt pain until now. She felt it was time to feel human again. She touched Han’s cheek, he leaned over and kissed her; then sat back, seeing her eyes focused on the starry sky.

“Hey,” he jostled. “I’ll bet Luke, Jane and Vader got off that thing before it blew.”

She nodded. “He did. I can feel it.”

So could Marion. Leia turned to her. Marion gave the two of them a warm smile. The living presence of their siblings touched them, through the Force.

Han and Doreah looked at them with deep love, special love. For they were special women. Royal ladies not by title, but by heart. They had won the hearts of everyone through their dedication and self-sacrifice.

Han took Leia in his arms, embraced her, lowered her back down into the ferns … and being extra careful of her wounded arm, lay down there beside her, under the waning glow of the burning star.

Doreah took Marion by surprise, kissing her passionately. _What is this?_ Marion thought. She loved it. Very much indeed. It was not every day that Doreah was the dominant one.

* * *

 

 **Lya and Ned** looked down at their father’s broken sword. He was dead. _But he is not entirely gone_. His legacy would live on through them. Turning to Owen, Lya kissed him. _Targaryen and Stark will never die._ The song of ice and fire would be eternal.

Ned felt a hand on his and turned to see Bess. There were no mournful words. She knew that he would not like to hear that. His mother and grandmother always said he was not a true Stark. Perhaps he was not like his grandfather, the honorable Ned Stark, or as cunning as most of his Targaryen ancestors but he was a fighter and unlike his grandfather and great-grandfather, Rhaegar and Aerys Targaryen who wallowed in self-pity, he would look ahead and work with Bess, his sister and Owen to build a better future.

* * *

 

** **

 A huge bonfire blazed in the center of the Ewok village square for the celebration that night. Rebels and Ewoks rejoiced in the warm firelight of the cool evening -singing, and dancing.

“A return to the Primitive.” Jane Seymour told her brother. Thomas grinned. He watched his son and Leia. “You still think he made a big mistake marrying Leia.”

“You don’t?”

“I think she will make him happy. For how long remains the question but now it is not the time to worry about that. There is much work to do and the new republic will need leaders, people who will want to invest their lives in the service of others. When I was Henry’s Queen I was called the peacemaker because I wanted to bring Mary and Elizabeth back into favor and keep relations between the Empire and England and the Galactic Republic peaceful. Now that Earth is without leadership, they will look to new faces, people with the right name and standing to represent them.”

“I never took you for a politician sister but you were always the stable one of our family. Any lucky they will have use of me?”

Jane smiled. She touched her brother’s cheek. A sad look crossed her face and they both knew who she was thinking about. **Edward Seymour**. He had been the rising star of the Seymour family. It should be him who reaped the benefits of the Rebel Alliance’s triumph. _But he is not here_. _We are. And we must make the most of it. Our people need familiar faces to help them rebuild Earth._

It was the sole reason why they had abandon them and joined the Empire. The land had been raped and taken from them by miserly kings and their pompous officials. Jane and Thomas were not going to make repeat their mistakes. Jane was going to hear them, work tirelessly so they could have justice while Thomas would train a new generation of fighters so if the forces of darkness rose again, Earth would be ready.

Anne Boleyn for her part was glad that Jane had listened to her and taken on the mantle of representative for their people. But she was sad because the two had lost so much in this war. Friends, family but their daughters remained. Jane’s daughter showed very little interest in politics but hers did. And as she looked at her taking a reluctant Ned Targaryen-Stark to dance around the bonfire, she felt happy, knowing that her daughter’s happiness was secured and from now on, her future would be a bright one.

Luke looked at the Targaryen siblings, his sister then everyone else. His sister believed in the goodness of others, while he remained optimistic of the rebellion. In the end, she had been right about their father. Both of us were. Their father’s darkness was too dark to overcome. Both were touched by it, and it was impossible to escape it, however they had not let themselves overcome by it.

His father was not here celebrating with them. He had chosen Mary’s quarters. Something the Naberries hated. They believed that he had been the perfect son-in-law and could have been much more if Mary had not gotten in the way. But for the first time, he had seen his father happy. Truly happy. Luke smiled knowing that he had many years ahead of him thanks to Jon’s sacrifice and he hoped that he and Marion and Jane Kyra’s father would enjoy parenthood with Ben.

Luke gazed at the spirits of the old Jedi Masters who had accompanied him and Jane Kyra during their perilous journey and showed them the ways of the Force. Next to them were others he did not know but Jane told them who they were for she had dreamed about them. “Qui Gon Jinn. Master Windu and Master Luminara Undili and Ahsoka Tano.”

“Father’s old apprentice.” Luke said. Jane nodded. “She looks at peace.”

“She does.” Jane agreed.  Luke smiled at all of them and they smiled back. But in that moment, their smile disappeared as a scream was heard throughout the entire village.’

~ **o~**

**_Moments earlier …_ **

_Mary had hugged her son and congratulated him on a job well done. Anakin had come and told Owen he was proud of him. “My half-sister and her sister told me they were going to make me a Lieutenant. I refused.”_

_“Why?” His mother demanded. “You could provide for yourself and Lya and your child. Owen, what were you thinking?”_

_“I wanted to mother, believe me but after what happened to you and father, I decided not to. I have everything I want in Lya.”_

_“Oh Owen, you do not have to worry about me. What your father did was wrong and we both know it, but I have you and your siblings and now I have Anakin. You should really reconsider. You have so much potential and the new republic could really use someone like you.”_

_“I suggested Lya and Ned. I am a terrible commander.”_

_“Nonsense.”_

_“I am. I tried and I failed. Lya and Ned are a year younger and they still managed to get past the Rebel Alliance’s defenses to join me, and to avoid getting captured before that, during the Cloud City fiasco. “_

_“You should listen to your mother Owen. I made many mistakes when I went on my first mission with Obi Wan. You have grown a lot since your capture and your joint effort with the Rebel Alliance’s star team helped the fleet destroy the death star and their battle ships.”_

_“Thank you lord Vader but … I couldn’t have done it without Lya, Ned and the rest. It was an effort of many people and I appreciate you and my mother encouraging me but I stand by my decision.”_

_“What will you do then?” Anakin asked. In the boy’s mind, he was still Lord Vader, an authority figure he admired and looked up to._

_“To be honest, I am not sure.” Owen admitted. “I want to help the new republic in any way I can. They could use someone to mediate with the Imperial remnants so maybe I could be a mediator or an ambassador of sorts and help bring peace to both sides.”_

_“That sounds great and something that will bring you good fortune.” Anakin said._

_Owen smiled. Ben awoke and yelled Owen’s name, causing his brother to turn. “Owen, you are back!”_

_“Of course I am back. Why did you think I wouldn’t?”_

_“I had a bad dream that you died. I am glad to see you here.”_

_Owen laughed, then ruffled Ben’s hair. “I always come back Benny.”_

_Ben grumbled. “Do not call me that. My name’s Ben.”_

_“Whatever you say.”_

_“Let me show you the toy soldier that Anakin gave me. You are going to love it.” Ben ran to his room searching for it, however he never made it._

_“So, I guess this is goodbye then?” Mary asked, brushing a tear out of her eye._

_“Come mother, do not cry, you won’t be gone for another day or two. So you will still have to put up with me and Lya.”_

_“I know but I am just so proud of seeing what you’ve become. So proud, Owen. You, Ben and Bess are the best thing the Tudors had to offer and although I will leave you, I am happy to know that you will continue to fight for what you believe.”_

_“Always mother. I had a good teacher and I will be happy knowing that you are in good company, raising my brother.”_

_Mary hugged her son for one last time. As the two faced each other again, Mary sensed something was amiss. Owen begun to blink several times, looking more confused than he ever did._

_Anakin sensed something too and got closer to Owen. “Owen?”_

_Owen nostrils began to bleed. “Mother.” Was his last word before everything went black._

_“Oh my god, Owen!” His mother cried. Anakin caught him just in time. Mary screamed his name, shook him and wiped the blood from his face but more kept pouring until his body turned completely pale and neither her or the former Jedi could sense any life from him._

_Anakin then went into Ben’s room sensing something else. To his horror, Ben was there, lying still face down, in his little hand was the toy soldier he had given him. When Mary asked him what was going on and she didn’t hear any answer, she feared the worst and sure enough, she was right._

_Mary gave out a blood-curling scream that ended the celebrations._

**~o~**

Jane Kyra brought a hand to her mouth. Tears strolled down her cheeks. Bess knelt next to Mary, a woman she had grown to hate and love, and tried to convince her to let go of her youngest son so the medics could take the boy but the latter refused.

“My baby boys. I want my baby boys back. They are mine, they can’t take them from me.” Could be heard from the older woman over and over again.

Mary Stuart cried, Catherine of Aragon shed a few tears, feeling a great pain in her heart as her daughter’s pain became hers. Obi Wan’s ghost was next to Bess, trying to convince his daughter to let go as well but she remained adamant. “They are in a better place now. You can’t do anything.”

“Do not tell me that. The Force is strong in our family. It can bring them back. Please tell It to bring them back. I want them with me again.”

Obi Wan told her he couldn’t and this made her more hysterical. Catherine of Aragon finally decided to join them. She placed a hand on her daughter’s shoulder and softly spoke to her. “Mary look at me.” Mary turned to her mother. “They are gone.”

“No. They are not. The Force… God … He can bring them back. He can bring them back. He brought back Lazarus through our Lord Jesus Christ, He can do the same. Ben and Owen are good people, surely, He will agree …” But Catherine shook her head.

“My daughter, I know exactly how you feel. When I lost your half-brother, I was miserable and I asked for the same thing but I had to console myself with the knowledge that they were in a better place.”

“No!”

“Mary, listen to your father. He knows what he is talking about. You have to let them go.”

“No. I will never let them go. They are my sons! My sons!”

Obi Wan, Catherine and Bess turned to Anakin. He just stood there, still as a statue. His expression was unreadable but his eyes weren’t. They were filled with hatred and suspicion. As he raised them from his lover who was still clutching the bodies of her only sons, to his son; Luke felt his father’s emotions all at once.

Luke sent waves of good energy to his father but he deflected them. He showed his son how he felt so he understood that the galaxy was unfair, that life was cruel and that no matter the good someone did, life always found a way to get back at you.

Finally, Anakin decided to do something about Mary’s frantic state. “Anakin, do not take them from me. Do something. You are the chosen one. Show my mother you are the chosen one, bring them back to life. I know you can.”

“Mary. You have to let go.” He said in a firm and sad voice.

Mary did and her sons were taken by her by the medics who took them to a nearby medical ship to do an autopsy and then prepare the bodies for the funerals.

What was supposed to be a night of triumph, turned into a night of sorrow. Everyone mourned the deaths of two innocents, especially young Ben who been a small child.

When Lya saw her husband’s body next to his brother’s being cradled by her mother she lost consciousness and Ned had to drag her out back to their guest hut. Bess came to visit him after Mary let go of her sons’ bodies to see how she was. “Still unconscious.” Ned responded. He turned to her. His face was colder than it had been before.

“I am sorry.”

“Owen always thought the best of people. Even our enemies. When something went wrong, he would look at the positive side and cheer everyone. Brendol Hux thought it made him strong. I asked him why and he said that in the battlefield a good morale here and now was good for it guaranteed soldiers’ loyalty. He wasn’t a fool like your rebel soldiers. He believed in people’s goodness but it didn’t obscure the fact that we were soldiers fighting a war and he did his duty like the rest of us.

“Ned, I am so sorry. There are not enough words to express how sorry I am but you must be strong for your sister. Something of Owen still survives in her.” She said and he nodded.

Without warning, she wrapped her arms around him. He didn’t push her away or tell her to go. He just stood there, motionless as Anakin had been when he saw the horrific scene unfold before his eyes.

* * *

Unaware to everyone in the village, one family was smiling. Its matriarch looked like the cat who had swallowed the bird while it was still in its cage. Lady Jobal Naberrie put the totem she had made of her daughter on a stand. After years of hardship, having to endure a life without their daughters, seeing that royal bastard getting scotch free with the man Padme loved, justice had finally been served.

And to think it was all thanks to the flame-haired devil. Ruwee thought looking at his wife smiling at the statue she had made in honor of their youngest daughter. After Padme’s funeral, Jobal became hysterical. No parent should have to outlive their offspring. It was a pain that many in the galaxy had come to know and empathize with them because of their youngest daughter’s husband and his whore. Then it was their oldest daughter. That was the last straw for Ruwee. He decided to do what his wife suggested and began to push their granddaughters to work for the Rebellion. After finding out about Luke, Leia and Marion and Jane Kyra, the rest was easy.

Jobal was good at making friends. His wife was resourceful; it was where Padme had gotten her wits. Whereas he and his eldest daughter were practical.

Getting Sansa Stark’s trust was tricky but not hard. She hated Arthur and Anakin’s whore more than they did. She was pitied by her husband and many imperials, but many on the rebel side, still hated her so all his wife had to say was remind her that whether she liked it or not, they were going to win and the best way to make the lady Mary pay for all her wrong doing, including taking her daughter from her by making her, her daughter-in-law, was through them. Sansa Stark took the bait, but his wife said that it was the other way around. Sansa knew what she was getting into, she was just waiting for the right time until they would make their move and proposition to her.  
She is her mother’s daughter. Ruwee thought. The woman was as cold and stone hearted as her mother. And unyielding as her paternal family. The poison was known as the silent death because of how slow it killed. The victim didn’t know when or how it had been taken but once the symptoms started showing, there was no cure except for an antidote. One that only a few had in their possession. Given how everyone was busy celebrating the defeat of the Empire, it made it impossible to take the poor youths into a ship and have a med droid do an analysis that would determine the cause for their dying state and administer the antidote.

Mary’s children’s fate was sealed the minute she had clawed her way through their daughter’s marriage. They weren’t blind to Anakin’s faults, but he was a man and like every man it was normal for him to fall for a pretty face. But that woman, once she knew that he was married, she continued to pine over him and make subtle threats.

Jobal was crafty slipping a tonic into her drink by bribing one of her attendants so she would miscarry her first child. That caused the rift between her and Anakin. But alas! Anakin Skywalker was an idealist like their youngest daughter and he felt guilty over the death of his child so after he and Padme had a big fight, he went to visit her and surely enough, got her pregnant again. They didn’t know until it was too late and she had already delivered her offspring.

It did not matter in the end because by taking Owen and Ben Tudor out of the picture, they managed to break her and force her and Anakin to stay.

Sure, there were many people calling for Anakin’s execution but the Naberries could manage to grant him a pardon or bring him under house arrest. He was after all family and they would never forget how much their daughter loved him. And it would be in bad taste to let the father of their grandchildren, someone who had been a good uncle to their other grandchildren, be killed. She, on the other hand, would be the one whom everyone would blame.

Ruwee knelt next to his wife. She turned to him and smiled. The two shared a kiss. For better or for worse, they had been mostly through the worst, but they had always remained side by side because that is what marriage was, a union of equals.

* * *

Mary stared at the empty crib. My baby. He could still be here. I killed you. She raised a hand to her the jewel in her choker. _Why did you take him from me, God?_

 _Can you hear me God?_ _It is Mary. I love you, I worship you. I still do. Why did you take my little boy from me?_ And Owen. What did poor Owen do? He was going to be a father. He would have made a marvelous father. He loved Lyanna and Lyanna loved him. He had betrayed the Empire after he saw what it was and  fought as hard as everyone in the rebellion to defeat it.

Mother. Could she have been right about her? Was Mary an imbecile. She lay down and placed her hand on top of the warm furs. The Ewok shamans had reproduced the necklace they had given Ben. She could not understand their language, but had an idea of what they were saying when they raised their arms, chanted and gave soft purrs when they presented her with those ‘gifts’. _Be joyful for he is now at peace._ And _we are very sorry._

She took one of those necklaces from underneath his crib and put it close to her chest. She pictured him in her arms, feeling his heartbeat, his cheeks pink as his grin widened after Anakin told him of the adventure they’d go to. Exploring other planets, seeing new species.

_My boy. My sweet, little boy. You are still with me. And Owen, you are with me too._

She was never going to let them go. Is that why you took them from me, God? You wanted to show me a lesson?

Perhaps this is my fault. If God had taken them from her so she could be punished, then so be it. She thought about all the people who whispered behind her back, grateful that she had known pain as they did. Believing that this was retribution for the people she and Anakin killed. I deserve it. I deserve everything.

More tears fell from her eyes. Some people you can punch them, insult them and they will get back up and retaliate with full force while others will become an empty shell of themselves. Mary was not there yet, but she felt like she was drowning in a sea of red and the only people who could help her, refused to see the truth: It was useless to help someone who had debased herself before god and her people. A whore, a bastard, an unworthy mother and daughter.

* * *

 

Luke, Jane Kyra, their sisters and their spouses, and a few other prominent rebel leaders stood in a forest clearing before a great pile of logs and branches. Lying still and robed atop the mound were the lifeless bodies of Owen and Ben Tudor. Lya wept tears of anger and sadness. A part of Owen still lived within her, but she was angry that he would not be here to see their child born. 

Ned's face was cold. His best friend, his brother in arms. Dead by poison. His eyes hardened as he remembered the last words they shared. They had joked about the new republic and thought about what their future roles would be. Owen said they could be instructors at the military academy and make fun of the trainees who would fail to keep up with their training methods.

One single figure saw the smoke rise. He stood next to a shuttle. The same shuttle he planned to use to escape with Mary and Ben. Now, he was stuck here.   
He had done it. He had fulfilled the prophecy, destroyed the Sith and brought balance to the Forth. The Empire was dead. _Long Live the Alliance._ He thought bitterly.

 


	52. A just and unjust walk

_"I never dreamed that I would lose somebody like you  
No, I don't want to fall in love_  
_this world is only going to break your heart_  
_No, I don't want to fall in love ... with you_  
_this world is only going to break your hear_  
_The world was on fire and no one could save me but you_  
_strange what desire will make foolish people do"_  
**~Wicked Game (Coves version)**

“Mary.” Mary didn’t respond. Anakin sighed. “The funeral is ready. They are expecting you.”

She remained silent.

“You can’t do this to yourself.”

…

“Lya and Ned will be there so will Bess. Owen will be given a hero’s funeral at Naboo where we are going in three days from now. His and Ben’s ashes will be placed on Coruscant Hall of Remembrance.”

“I don’t care. No honor will bring my babies back. I killed them.”

“You did not. Someone is responsible for poisoning them and it is not you. When we find who did, we will bring them to justice and I swear to you, I will be the one who delivers the killer blow.”

But Mary didn’t want that. “Too many people have died because of me. I do not want any more bloodshed.”

“They killed your sons. The father of your grandchild!”

“Don’t you think I know that? Not a day goes by that I do not think of their happy faces before they were taken from me. I can still smell their blood and feel the wetness of that unholy liquid on my sleeves. There is nothing more I'd like than to see justice being delivered but when I look back at everything that happened, I see that it was all my fault. Owen landed himself in the rebellion because he wanted to impress me, because he had failed at every mission, including the ones you sent him because I treated him like a baby and didn’t allow him to be independent. When I remembered that Ben was my baby, I was going to tell him the truth but I was afraid that he would reject me so I continued to lie. If I hadn’t, my baby would still be alive. I was proud, vain and arrogant. I let my mother be turned into a spirit of vengeance and led my father to an early grave.”

She sniffed. “And before that I was Melusina, a spirit hell-bent on cursing my descendants. I destroyed so many lives. I thought that by having Ben with us, I could erase all of my past sins but I was a fool for thinking I could cheat my way out of God’s punishment.”

“Fuck god, and fuck the rest. You loved Owen and Ben and regardless of what you think, you were a good mother to them. They loved you and someone out there is guilty for their deaths and I swear I will make them pain.”

“I do not want more bloodshed.”

“They need to be punished.”

Mary shook her head. “I am the one who needs to be punished. My actions brought about their deaths.”

“Owen and Ben had nothing to do with us.”

“They had everything to do with us. I killed them. Can’t you see? I murdered my descendants on the whims of two witches who only wanted to dress in rich silks and wear a meaningless crown. And we murdered Ashoka.”

“Ashoka forgave us.”

“That doesn’t erase what we did. We have been running away from our guilt for so long, it is time we face it. We need to atone for our what we did.”

“Mary, don’t do this. You do not have to humiliate yourself before them. You are Mary Kenobi, the daughter of one of the greatest Jedi I know and the granddaughter of Kings. You do not bow before them.”

She gave a dry laugh. More tears escaped from her eyes. “Titles and more titles. That is all I have ever cared about. Mary Tudor, Princess of Wales, Mary Tudor, heiress presumptive, Lady Mary, Lady Inquisitor, Lady of Arthur Tudor, but I am the lady of nothing. All of my life I have plotted, cheated. No more.”

“I won’t let you do this. I swore to you that I would protect you and I am going to do just that by taking you away before they come for you.”

“Do not do that Anakin. It is only fair that they do. I must pay. If I want to make my babies proud, I must pay for what I did and to save you.” Mary said touching his cheek. “Yes, you. You are the dark lord of the Sith. You are the one many people are looking to prosecute and later execute. I won’t let that happen. Once, they are done with me, their thirst for vengeance will be satiated and you will be safe.”

“We are creatures of the underworld, Mary. We will never be safe.” Anakin said. He leaned forward and kissed her.

She was damaged. They had killed her. He was sure it was that red-haired dastardly Stark woman, Sansa and her mother, Lady Stoneheart. What Arthur Tudor never could, Sansa Stark had done.

Despite her telling him she didn’t want his help, Anakin would help her either way. Jon had given his life-force so Anakin could enjoy the remainder of his years with Mary. He was not about to pass that up because of these self-righteous moralistic rebels.

 _They may have won the war, but they won’t make an example of my wife_.  He vowed.

* * *

“The coroner’s report revealed that it was the Silent Death or as it is known in Earth, the Long Farewell. It is originally from the dark regions of Asshai. To my understanding the Empire had destroyed all organic life there.” Marion told Princess Leia.

“The Empire still stored the seeds. For all we know Lady Sansa could have gotten ahold of one and grown it in one of their facilities. She was quite fond of these experiments.”

At the word ‘experiments’ Marion shuddered, remembering their own ordeal. Had their siblings and Han Solo and the Wookie not arrived in time, they would have subjected to these experiments.

“How could she have managed to get that on their drinks and more so, what were the odds that Owen and Ben would be the ones that drank from the same glass?” Marion asked her sibling.

“I do not know. But one thing is sure, she had to have the help from someone else. It wasn’t only the Star necklace with the Tully crest next to it we found below the glass. It was a letter ‘retribution’. This was more than just an act of passion. Someone wanted them your mother to suffer.”

“She is not my mother.”

Leia smiled sadly at her. “We can’t deny who we are related to. I hate to admit that Vader is our father but he is and as much as you hate to admit it, her blood runs through your veins.”

“That doesn’t make us family. She wasn’t there for me when I was growing up. You and Doreah and Han and Luke and Jane Kyra are my family.” Marion said.

Then she added: “Whoever wanted the lady Mary to suffer must have held some type of grudge which makes this much harder.” She blinked as a thought crossed her mind. “Maybe not that hard.”

“What is it?”

“Who poured the drinks during the Ewok celebration?”

“A handful of the new recruits but they could not have been in communication with the Lady Stark or her mother. Sansa would not be so foolish to trust someone a rookie. This had to be someone from within our ranks.”

“Exactly. Who among us wants to see her suffer -besides me that is. Who would have gone to great lengths to take what she most loved on the universe that they would have made a deal with the devil?"

A look of dread appeared on Leia’s face. “You do not mean … Gods … Force be merciful. We should conduct an investigation and look into their holo-records.”

“No, that won’t do. They have the sympathy of the rebellion. Nothing we do, can blacken their name and we just won. If we involved the Naberries into this, what does that say about us?”

“You can’t seriously consider we let them go free and look at them in the eye as if nothing happened. They killed two innocent people, a child of three for crying out loud.”

“I know how you feel. They were my brothers after all.” Marion said, her eyes hardening and Leia felt ashamed. “I will never acknowledge Mary as my mother but I loved Ben and Owen. He was a pain in the neck but I grew to love him -that was why I was so hard on him because I didn’t want him to become a spoiled brat the way she did.” She took a step closer to Leia. “That is why this hurts me more than you do but it is necessary. Owen gave his life so the rebellion could win. If we expose the Naberries, his death would have been for nothing.”

Leia and Marion kept their silence. But they could no  longer look at the Naberries in the eye without feeling disgust, especially the former. This is the family that everyone looked up to? How could they had created someone so pure and humble like her mother, or strong and virtuous like her aunt?

The ashes of Owen and Ben Tudor were placed in ‘Great Urns’. They were taken to Naboo instead of Coruscant and placed in the Grand Temple of the Many Great Ones. Only a select few in the galaxy were given such honor. Not surprisingly when Mary heard about the ceremony, she wept and took it as proof that this divine retribution. As a way to make her feel worse, the urns were placed above Padme’s.

“I will not rest until they suffer like we did.” Lyanna said, resting a hand on her stomach where she felt the baby kick. It sensed her displeasure and like her, he couldn’t wait to get his hands on those who had taken everything from them. “They stole the future from you and me, I am not going to let it go.”

“You must.” Mary said holding her daughter-in-law’s hand. “For your child’s sake. I didn’t let go of my anger and look what it did to me. Now Ben is dead, Owen is dead. If there is one person you should hate, it should be me.”

“Why would I hate you? You were like the mother I never had. You were nothing but kind towards me and Ned and you were a great mother.”

“I would gladly accept your words if they were true but they were not. You have been deceived by a lie. Everyone has. I am not the person you think I am. Your mother’s hatred of me is not without good foundation.” Mary said. “When I sold my soul to the Empire, I asked a great portion of Earth and seeing that Lady Sansa was being recognized as the lady of Winterfell and various regions, I was getting nothing. Just empty titles and infertile land. Anakin still mourned for the loss of his wife and I was being pushed through the mud. I became jealous and I wanted to take it all away so I took every chance to remind my servants that she was a turn-cloak. First Lannister, then Bolton now Snow. Who will she be married to next? -I said. Your mother got angry. I do not blame her for that. I would have too if I were in her shoes. So you see, I cast the first stone. You should not be angry at her but me.”

“Mary, you have a good heart. You have always given your heart to this cause or that cause but for once, you must think about yourself. She hurt you. This is not a simple mean girls’ trick of she said, you said. She hurt you! She killed your sons, my husband, the father of my child. She deserves to pay.”

“And she will, but it will not be I who punishes her or you. She is your mother Lya and I am sure that in her view, what she did was to save you from a life of misery.”

“She has made me miserable. Little good it did.” Lya said, her features showing more hatred than Mary had ever seen on the young woman.

“Live long for your child’s sake. Do not become like me, do not give into hatred.”

“I can’t promise you that, Mary. Wherever my mother is, I will find her and make her pay.” Lya vowed and Mary smiled a small smile then embraced her.

“I wish you would stay with me for company but I fear what it would do to your reputation.”

“Fuck my reputation. Our families have been at the mercy of lesser people. No more. The rebel alliance and their new government can go fuck themselves. I will visit you and I will make sure your grandchild knows you and not the version of you they give to their public.”

* * *

The new republic was trying to figure out how to deal with the lady Mary and Vader who were kept in separate rooms in Theeds’ palace. Lady Stark-Targaryen’s daughter and son visited them often, and occasionally they also received visits from the sun twins and their officials.

“She must be made an example. She killed many good people, and hunted down the Jedi like they were a scourge on our galaxy. She can’t be allowed to run around free.” Pooja Naberrie said.

She was of course bias, but the late queen and Senator of Naboo had a good point. If they released Lady Mary into the world, what did that say about their rebellion? There were so many systems that were still unsure whether to trust them or not. They wanted to see the guilty being punished.

To further prove her point, Pooja elaborated. “Many students at the Academies lost someone special. Their anger at the Lady Mary is greater than that on the former lord of the Sith. At least he gave valid information, all the former Inquisitor did was live off our hard earned money.”

“My lords, I hate the lady Mary as much as you do and I believe she should answer for her crimes. Both she and Lord Vader should. But if we do this, how different are we from the Empire who punished their prisoners without mercy, without a fair trial?” Lady Marion said. She turned to Pooja. “I too lost many members of my family. Though not related to me by blood, they were my family and seeing Alderaan explode was the hardest thing I have ever had to endure. So trust me when I say this, I understand your thirst for revenge but we cannot go down to the Empire’s level. There are so many Imperial officers with remnants of their armies in the outer rim that we could get our hands on and judge them. They have a lot to atone for as well.”

“And how do you suggest we do that Lady Tyrell?” Karn Velz-Cas asked. A former member of the Galactic and Imperial Senate, he had lived through the old republic and the Empire and had seen much in his old age. He was tired of playing the peacemaker. “Our forces have just assembled and with many of theirs refusing to surrender, it will be months, perhaps a year before we capture any of them. If we do capture them.”

“Then we work harder to fend them off. We won the war, sir. That is undeniable. They will either submit and be judged by a jury of our peers or die. It makes no difference. What does make a difference is how we proceed with our prisoners now. If we do not give them a fair trial, then we convince the undecided sectors that we are no better than those that came before us.” Princess Leia said.

“My lady and Your Highness, you are two of our noblest members and our greatest fighters. The people look up to you, especially the commons but you are asking too much of them. They have lost so much, some of them sacrificed their entire fortunes and those with nothing, died or escaped but bore great scars. They are asking us for justice and as the noble institution that we are, we must answer to our people.”

“You are right, Senator. They look up to us, and that is why we must continue to guide them in the right direction. Even if they decry this as an act of cowardice, we must be morally superior in the face of sentimentality.”

“My dear, you fail to understand the commons. They want the power to torment their tormentors the way they were tormented.” Senator Vali  Ciaputa said. She was from the Mandalorians. She had lost her family to the Empire because they refused to give up their customs. The Rebel Alliance promised to respect her culture as long as they pledged loyalty to them so she rallied many good fighters to fight for them. “You and Lady Marion had the chance to fight back because of your position, many did not.” She gazed at everyone. “Give the commons what they want. Anakin Skywalker and Lady Mary should stand before the sight of the commons, and atone for their sins in the ways of the old, the way the knights of the Old Republic published sinners.”

“You are speaking of humiliation. This is not who we are.” Lady Marion said. Several others gathered there also protested.

“My husband’s grandfather’s mistress, Jane Shore, for all of those that haven’t bothered to read on terrestrial history” Jane Seymour interrupted, speaking aloud so all of the voices would be silenced at once. “slept with many men and was free to do so because of her status. When Richard stole the throne from his nephews and bastardized my husband’s mother, he forced her to ‘atone’ for her sins. She walked the streets wearing a simple garment. Nearly naked, the poor woman asked everyone for help but everyone jeered at her, crying ‘whore’ and ‘slut’. The same thing was done in Westeros to Lady Marion’s adoptive grandmother, Queen Cersei, except hers was worse. She was forced to walk the streets of King’s Landing, naked and it was such an arduous walk that her feet bled. That made things worse and the fate lost many members because of it. I do not approve of what the lady Mary or Anakin Skywalker did during the time they served the Emperor; but let us not think with our hearts and instead use our minds for a mind is a precious thing. If we allow ourselves to be slaves to revenge then our system will collapse and everyone who sacrificed themselves to see their friends and family live in freedom, their sacrifice will be in vain.”

“You speak with clarity Lady Jane, but unfortunately clarity is not what we need. We speak for the people and it is the people who will elect us and choose who stays and who no longer represents us and as a democracy we must be impartial to everyone.” One of the assembled said then added: “You  have given valid points and you show great promise in the world of politics but for everyone’s sake, you must agree with the majority’s judgment.”

“Those who vote that the Lady Mary and Anakin Skywalker should face punishment in the times of Old, say yay or nay.”

Everyone cast their vote. Lady Mary’s fate was decided over a series of ‘yays’ and ‘nays’. Anakin’s however was even simpler. Thanks to the Naberries’ influence, he was spared the great humiliation that his wife would endure but there was a catch. He would have to be amongst the ‘lucky ones’ to see her walk the streets of Naboo where Padme Amidala had walked and where many had been put to death by Imperial firing squads, naked.    

* * *

 

“I will sooner kill myself than be part of her humiliation.” Anakin said when he gazed at the Naberried. They were the perfect family. The ones who taught Padme Amidala about principles and morality. They were what he always wanted, and what he envied Padme for.

The disgust was evident by the way he spoke to them when they made their grand entrance to his rooms. This ‘prison’ -if it could be called that- was like a summer vacation compared to what Mary had to endure after she was told what she would have to do to demonstrate to everyone that she was a changed woman.

“It is understandable. She is a beautiful woman and you were lonely at the time.”

“It is not that, you proud bitch.” He shouted at his former mother-in-law. “I love her. I thought I loved your daughter and she thought the same about me and that is why I ended everything with her. If I could go back, I would and choose her over your daughter.”

“Oh Anakin, I can see why our daughter fell in love with you. You have every right to feel angry but ask yourself: are you with Mary because you feel guilty or because you have the chance at happiness you never had, had you not caused our daughter’s death?”

“How dare you bring Padme to this?”

“We did not, you did.” Ruwee subtly said. “Listen to the women in our family Anakin, they are very wise. Jobal and I felt like the world had ended for us after our daughters died but we endured. Hope kept us going and we are glad we kept moving forward because what Padme always maintained about you was right. You did vanquish the Empire. You helped your son and daughters stay on the light path and killed the Emperor. You are the chosen one and for that the galaxy will always be in your debt.”

“And what about Mary? Didn’t she endanger her life for your Rebellion’s sake? I watched her every day be miserable with Arthur Tudor and when I rescued her, I saw the bruises on her body. She went through worse than your daughter or I ever did, and never once she blamed you.”

“Because she had no reason to. She is a Christian royal, or so she loved telling everyone when she was an Inquisitor. Her mother drilled a lot of nonsense into her head about what her destiny was, that she didn’t stop and think about those that suffered under her evil master’s control. She tore families apart, she killed mercilessly and she almost killed our niece had the students at the academy not expose her for the whore she is.” Jobal said. “You can defend her all you want but blood never lies and in her case she left a big trail for everyone to find that it wasn’t difficult for everyone to agree, she deserves the walk of atonement.”

“You killed two innocent boys. I did worse than her. Why am I not being punished? I betrayed my order, killed younglings, how should I answer to that?”

“You have suffered enough but if you are a fan of the cult of suffering that she follows, you can comfort yourself with the knowledge that you will watch her as she walks the streets naked without being able to stop it." Jobal said, smiling at him before she and her husband departed.

Anakin sent a wave of energy that sent many things flying across the room. Obi Wan appeared and tried to calm him down but it was to no avail.

“I did this. I screwed up her future, I drove Padme to an early grave because I was obsessed with her, and I destroyed your precious Jedi Order. They should punish me. She lost two children, what more do they want?”

Obi Wan didn’t know how to answer him. He too was stunned by the Naberries’ revelations. He had always thought the best of them. But clearly, he was wrong.

“I talked to Mary. She wanted me to tell you to be strong.”

“How can she ask me that? How can she be so calm when they are about to humiliate her?”

“It is not easy for me either Anakin. I want to stop this but my hands are tied and so are Catherine’s.”

“You had to bring that woman into the conversation. She should be the one walking naked. She and all those royal terrestrials who judged me, are the real whores!”

Obi Wan closed his eyes. He grinded his teeth. He was not going to say something he’d later regret but the anger was visible in his eyes when he opened them.

“Are you going to say something? Say it. I do not care. I am not your chosen one. I never was. First I was a slave to the Hutts then Watto, then the Jedi and then the Empire and now the Rebels. What more does the galaxy want of me? How more people have to die before I can finally be free?”

“Anakin, I do not make the rules. I share your pain. I do not want my daughter to go through this. I have tried to talk her out of it and find a way so the two of you can escape but she doesn’t want to. She believes she must do this or else the images of her dead sons will haunt her.”

Anakin sat on the couch and sighed. He looked to Obi Wan and gave him a cruel grin. “How did we ever come to this?”

“I do not know. We just did. Regardless of what you think of me, I will always be here to help you. You can count on me.”

Anakin’s voice hardened. “I will watch my wife debase herself before the entire galaxy but know this. After she is done humiliating herself for your precious democracy, I never want to see you or Catherine or hear of the Jedi ever again.”

“Anakin you cannot be serious.”

“I am. You and the Jedi are dead to me. Get out.”

* * *

Mary saw the doors of her rooms open. She had woken up early. Her dark auburn hair was loose and she wore a simple nightgown. That wasn’t enough for her jailers who told her she had to cut her hair just above the shoulders and then took off her clothes and dressed her in a simple white chemise.

When she was brought outside Theed Palace she saw thousands of people lined up and holo-cameras hovering above them. Everyone wanted to see the former Inquisitor brought to justice. _I deserve it._ She thought as the former Imperial Senator began speaking, talking about the ‘great mercy’ the new Republic would offer her.

“She will come to you as the day she was born. Naked before the eyes of the trillions watching across the galaxy. She will subject herself to your will and in doing so, your voices will not only have been heard, but your cries will cleanse her evil deeds.”

She raised her eyes and thought she saw Owen carrying his brother Ben but it was just a mirage. A father, yellow-haired with a child in his arms, copper-haired, that looked like Ben and Owen. _They are dead. Can’t you realize that? You killed them._

 _I did. And I must answer for that_. Her jailers took off her chemise and told her to take the first steps. She did and no sooner had she walked less than a quarter mile, the taunts began.

“Whore!” “Witch!” “Jedi Bastard!” “Sinner!” “Murderer!” They called her. Some of them threw dirty food, others spit at her. Her jailers were having a hard time keeping them far away. One managed to get past them and slap her across the face which caused her to fall down unto the ground.

 _Mother!_ She begged. _She is not coming to save you_. Her conscience taunted her again. _She hates you, she was right about you all along. You are disgusting. A filthy whore like your Plantagenet and Trastamara ancestors. Face it my lady, no one will save you._

She looked for her ghost father, hoping he’d save her like when she had been Bella and the maids had tormented her but he was nowhere in sight. “Father. I am so sorry.” She cried over and over again, refusing to listen to her jailors who shouted “Get up!”

Growing tired of her cries, they forced her to get up and she continued walking, ignoring the pain in her feet, or her bleeding nose.

Had she looked harder, she would have seen her father, biting his tongue, making a big effort not to shed tears as he watched his daughter fall to the floor, calling out to him.

 _Owen, Ben, I am so sorry_. She thought, shedding more tears as she thought of their dying faces. She had tasted their blood after she had buried her head in them before she agreed to give them up.

She heard her mother’s voice from when she was a child. ** _“Recuerda quien eres. Eres descendiente de Isabel y Fernando y algun dia seras Reina.”_**

Her whole life had been a lie. She grew up believing she was the daughter of Henry VIII when she was a bastard and her hatred at that revelation poisoned her soul and made her do horrible things. _And now I am paying for them._

 _Oh Ben, Owen, I am so sorry!_ She was supposed to be the dragon’s daughter, descendant of great warriors but she was nothing more than a Jedi bastard. They were right. She was a whore and a dastardly being.

 _Anakin!_ She turned, thinking she had heard his voice but she was wrong. _He is not here._ This spectacle was just for her. She alone would suffer this burden. _As it must be. I brought this on myself_.

She could feel something wet on her feet. Looking down she saw it was blood. Her feet were bleeding because of the hot stone floor but that didn’t matter to her jailers or the people who told her to keep moving and called her dirty names.

When she finally reached the Grand Temple of the Many Great Ones, she saw Luke Skywalker’s girlfriend, Carina Sanders giving her a sympathetic smile. Next to her was her daughter, Marion and her half-sister Leia, Jane Seymour and many members of the new republic. Not surprisingly, Pooja Naberrie was among them and behind her were her grandparents whose eyes were unable to hide the joy they felt at seeing this terrible woman face justice. And the worst was yet to come.

The only thing that had remained on her body was the silver choker with the red jewel. Mary had begged them beforehand not to take it off her. They had agreed because they saw no harm in it.

As she made her way inside, she saw Anne Boleyn, Ned Targaryen-Stark accompanied by Bess. Absent were Han Solo, Doreah Sand and the sun twins who -since they were not politicians- could afford not being there. Han Solo hated Vader and would never warm up to that man but the thought of punishing someone just for the sake of punishing was disgusting. It was these types of actions that made him leave the Imperial Academy. As for Luke and Jane Kyra, no one needed to ask why. Doreah for her part had seen her family devoured by vengeance so she didn’t want to be part of this charade. Lyanna refused to see her mother-in-law like this but her brother did not share her opinion. He wanted to see Mary like this so he could hate the Naberries and other corrupt officials more. He was not going to spend the rest of his days being a victim. He was going to accept their proposal to train the new republic’s forces, but he would never bow down to these elites. Neither would Bess who made a vow to be like her mother before her, and influence policy one way or another, and punish those who had hurt her loved ones without mercy.

Jane Seymour, Princess Leia, Lady Marion Tyrell had to be there for their association to the new republic but they took no joy seeing Mary suffer.

When Mary prostrated herself before the Higher Council who took their positions before her and asked their pardon, they said that she could now be free of her past deeds but she would be given to the custody of one of their comrades. The Naberries smiled, expecting to be them but to their great surprise it wasn't.

"Lady Anne Boleyn come forward." Anne Boleyn bowed her head to them and took her place next to Mary. "Your daughter has given a lot in the name of freedom and justice and has proposed you look after her. Votes have been cast and we have determined that you will be the one who will take this great responsibility, to look after the former Inquisitor known to the Empire as the Eighth Sister. Do you accept this responsibility?"

"I do, Senator." Although it gave her no joy to say it.

"It is determined then. Lady Mary shall be placed in Lady Anne's custody and Anakin Skywalker will remain free until we deem it otherwise. Lady Mary you can rise. Our guards will escort you to Lady Anne's guest rooms."


	53. A Commitment not easily broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As we near to the finale of the first act, our heroes think of the future while those in the middle think about their sins, and the lost ones start the path that will change the fate of billions in years to come.

_"I, I will be King_  
 _and you, you will be Queen_  
 _for nothing will drive them away_  
 _we can beat them just for one day_  
 _we can be heroes just for one day"_  
~Heroes by David Bowie

“Admiral Piett.”

“I am not an admiral any longer.”

“You are to us.” Ned Targaryen said referring to himself and his sister. “The Republic has agreed to reinstate you as leader of their armed forces in the central sector. You will be granted the honor of training their new recruits there. They’re calling it the Delta Military Academy.”

“I am flattered by what the new republic has not taken from me (yet), but truth be told young Targaryen, I would be more honored if you would help me train them.”

“Now I am the one who is flattered sir. There is nothing more than I would like that to be working with a man I highly respect but I must painfully decline. My job is with the Northern sector, rebuilding the last line of offense against what remains of the Empire. With any luck, I will find my mother and her mother and take them into custody.”

“Do not give yourself to vengeance, Lieutenant. You were one of Brendol Hux’ greatest pupils and a great friend to Owen Tudor. Your sister and your nephew will need you in the coming years.”

“You sound like a seer about to predict some misfortune. Did my father’s witch tell you something would happen to her?”

“No, but I have lived long enough to know that everything is bound to fail, and the people, be they educated or not, are never truly satisfied. The new republic is built on hope and that might satisfy them for a while but what about when they realize that everything they promise is a load of cock and bull? What then? I will tell you the answer. It is a simple one. Chaos. Just like before, they will look to someone who will make them all kinds of crazy promises. Some of them will have the good common sense they are not realistic but they will follow him or her anyway because that person will be seen as the one who will deliver them from an endless bureaucratic system that doesn’t allow them to think or say whatever they please unless it suits their agenda.”

“Forgive me for saying this Admiral but wasn’t that what we did when we worked for the Empire?”

“Right you are, but whereas we policed thought and speech by shooting everyone, this new republic will police thought and speech in a new way, one that will leave them feeling angry and helpless. If anyone, right now, stood up in front a classroom at an Academy and said what was his or on her mind that happened to go against the ideals of their sacred republic, what would happen to that student? He wouldn’t be shot, neither would his parents be shot. But because his opinions were contrary to what the Headmaster of that academy thought, or the majority of his peers believed, he would be shunned by the rest of the society and his parents would suffer the same ordeal. If his mother works in the government, she would be fired or be forced to quit after she faced endless threats from self-righteous moralists who’d tell her that she did a poor job raising her son. His father would try to ignore it, but the pressure would get to him at some point that he was forced to quit his job as well. All that will do nothing but create another enemy and another ... and another … and before you know it, we have a string of these people, lining up in the streets, shouting obscenities like the ones that were shouted at the Lady Mary during her shameful walk. If the Imperial remnants are gone, they will fade into obscurity but if they do not and something of our old system remains, then they will take advantage of this angry faction and use to destroy the new republic.”

Piett smiled a sad smile. “But I am probably getting ahead of myself. If the new republic officials are as smart as they say they are, they will elect the right people.”

* * *

Their conversation remained in the back of Ned’s mind as he made his way to Bess’ office. “You like it?” She asked, eager to see his smile. When she didn’t get it right away, she tried another technique. She placed a chain of office around her neck. It was a thin one compared to the heavier ones used by her father’s officials in the times before the new republic.

She had just been elected Junior Senator of Earth. She had won by a landslide along with Jane Seymour who was elected First Senator. There was a position open for Prime Minister but Jane didn’t think she was ready for that and thought Bess should take it but Bess told her she would, when she had more experienced. Mary Stuart for her part, worked very close with Bess.

The first time they got to their new apartments, they felt like children gazing at their new clothes and jewels. After years of having to fight for everything they had, they finally got to live like they always wanted. Like Royals. Except -Bess thought- we are not Royals. She reminded herself after she took the Oath to serve her people that she was an elected official. Everything she did would be judged, so if she wanted to maintain her position she had to work harder than her predecessors.

“It has the Tudor rose with rubies and other gemstones. I had it made just for me and below three pearls like my mother’s necklace and.” She pointed to her diadem. “A jeweled B in the center. Isn’t wonderful.”

Ned smiled. He had to admit she had outdone herself.

“I knew you’d like it. Now we can see each other more. You training new cadets and me making sure everyone is safe.”

“I am glad you are happy but between being stuck in this office and me with the new army, I don’t think we will be able to see each other that much.”

“Nonsense, we will. I want you by my side. And don’t worry about me. I don’t intend to be stuck here all day long like my father did in his castles. I want to see the galaxy.”

Ned laughed. “You have already seen the galaxy Bess. What is left for you to see?”

“I mean to **really** see it. As a representative of my people. Besides, Jane will be the one handling all the major affairs.”

“What about your dream to become Prime Minister one day?” Ned asked. “Shouldn’t you be acquiring some experience?”

“That is exactly what I am doing. Traveling distant worlds, going on progresses the way my Plantagenet ancestors did, and seeing all of Earth, not just my native England, I will be able to meet everyone and hear their stories and know what they want by the time I become Prime Minister.”

“That is a very ambitious vision you have there, Bess, but I am afraid it is also an impossible one. As Jr. Senator and one of the remaining royals, you will be exposing yourself to great danger.”

“Which is why you will be there with a big number of soldiers to protect me.” Bess took his hands. “I know you have a lot on your mind and believe me when I say this, I wish you could be free to spend as much time with Lya, but she can handle herself and besides, I do not intend to leave her unprotected.” She showed him a number of people from a secret file she had made, whom she had elected to be part of her spy league.

“Has Jane seen this?”

Bess nodded. “She is the first one who agreed. I can see you agree too.”

“It is brilliant but I do not know if some of the people will agree. Terrestrials are known to whine over everything.”

“You judge us too harshly. You are terrestrial as well whether you like it or not and they will like it once they find themselves back in their homes, wandering off at night with nothing to fear.”

“You make it sound so simple but if you are sure these are the right men for the job, then perhaps it is that simple.” Ned said, reading through these ‘spy-masters’’ records. They were all very capable. Some had proven their loyalty to the new republic fighting for the rebel alliance, collecting data from the Empire they pretended to be loyal to. He remembered his grandmother’s words ‘once a turn cloak, always a turn cloak’. If they were still as skillful, what wasn’t to say, that they wouldn’t change their allegiance from one day to the next if they thought Bess’ methods were not in accordance to what the new republic stood for?

He’d have to watch them out. As much as he hated to admit it, he had fallen in love with her and the thought of seeing another one of his loved ones, die, was unbearable.

* * *

“Mary.” Anne addressed her former stepdaughter. She didn’t turn her head to Anne’s, instead, she remained silent, looking at the pictures of her dead sons. Each was next to a silver cross her mother had ordered after she begged her for something holy so she could spend the remainder of her days in prayer.

Anne sighed. “We can’t go on like this. You miss your sons. I understand your pain, so does your mother but you must move on, otherwise their sacrifice would have been for nothing.” She knelt next to her. “They would have wanted you to be happy.”

“They? How do you know that? I spent half my life thinking I knew the answers to everything. I was the child of Henry VIII, his true heir. Anakin’s true wife, a good mother … but I was deceived by my lies just as you all were. I wasn’t a good person. My actions led to my sons being taken from me.”

“Who told you that? Was it the Naberries or that wolf-bitch and her fish mother? Nobody in this house is blaming you for what happened but I am asking you to rise on your two feet and be like the warrior you were before, and rebuild your life. Many people thought I was Henry VIII’s concubine, did I let that stop me from living my life or being a good mother to Bess? People are stupid, they believe what they want to believe because otherwise they will have to look at themselves in the mirror and see that they are no better than you or I. Anakin has come by this house to see you and you always chase him away by telling my maids to give him whatever excuse springs in your head. Frankly, I am getting tired of your excuses. We all are. If you want to atone for your sins, live your life and be happy.”

“I can’t.” Mary said, finally glancing at Anne. It seemed surreal that this was the girl who had once stood up to her and called her, Henry’s mistress, adding that she would not bow to someone who demeaned her mother, and fought everyone at Hatfield who didn’t address her as ‘Princess’.

“You must.” Anne said. She rose to her feet. “The next time Anakin Skywalker shows up here or your mother, I won’t let my maids be dissuaded by your excuses. It is time you see your husband.”’

“He is not my husband.” Mary said, returning her glance at the holy cross and her sons’ portraits.

“He is and the sooner you accept it, the better. The Naberries have spent a lot of time, convincing everyone that you are the devil. Show them differently. If you do not want vengeance, that is fine but the best way to rectify what you did is by living your life with the people who love you.”

Mary heard the door close then the loud voice of her former stepmother telling her maids not to give in to her excuses anymore. _They do not understand_. She thought. Tears rolled down her eyes as she fixated on her sons’ eyes. _Owen, Ben, I promise you, I will live my life in atonement_.

* * *

They said that when a person died, it was a tragedy, but when many died, it was just statistics. Here, it was the other way around. Ben and Owen died, and everyone mourned. But as days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months, everyone forgot about them. Mary on the other hand, became the butt of jokes.

She was a whore who had stolen Padme Amidala’s place as the true wife of Anakin Skywalker and got what she deserved. Nobody dares to think about what we did to her. The Naberries poisoned her so she would miscarry their first child when Padme was still alive. Frantic, she had blamed Padme and her accusations convinced him that she was a jealous creature just like her mother and he abandoned her.  
_But I could never stay away from her for too long._ After he and Padme had a big fight where she told him that he shouldn’t have second thoughts about their marriage, and he suggested that maybe they acted in haste and didn’t know each other that well at the time of their union. Padme angrily retorted that he was turning his back on her just like he had turned his back on his Jedi ideals. The thought of him doing that on the Jedi at the time seemed ludicrous and coming from her it hurt. So on his next mission to Earth when he encountered Mary again, the two had another intimate moment that led to the conception of Marion and Jane Kyra.

 _Everyone said I was the chosen one. Fated to destroy the Sith and bring balance to the Force_. Little good it did him. His wife was broken, refused to see him, and what remained of her was pooled into religious nonsense.

He put the cat he got from the local shelter off the couch. It was a female, completely black except for a strip of yellow in the middle of her forehead. She was an odd feline, always waiting until he got back and not eating unless he ate. Sometimes he worried she would starve when he was away for a long time, walking the streets of Naboo but she never did.

He noticed she had red on her lips. “Don’t tell me you got into a fight?” She hadn’t. It was a smidge of sauce she had taken from the leftovers he left on the table. “So much for waiting for me to eat.”

He put her down again and she sat next to him.

“I guess I will have to eat whatever is on the kitchen and leave you with milk before I go to sleep.”

She gave a soft mewing as she gazed at him. “You’d be like this too if you had an angry mob who wants to crucify your wife for something she had no control over.”

* * *

“Lady Mary.” Mary turned to one of Anne’s servants.

“Yes?”

“You have a visitor.”

“Who?”

“Me.” Mary’s daughter with Anakin, Lady Marion Tyrell said without waiting for the introductions. “Thanks Helen, you can leave us.”

The servant girl closed the doors behind them. Anne had modified parts of the palace to suit her liking. Something she was familiar with from a bygone era. With her daughter working with the New Republic, she could afford all these changes and Elizabeth was eager to please her mother.

“Marion. You look so beautiful. How is Doreah doing? Is she expecting …”

“No. We agreed that I will be the one carrying our child after the exams come back.”

“Exams?”

Marion nodded and explained the procedure to her. It wasn’t a simple implantation process. They had to determine if her body would be able to take it. Oberyn Martell’s DNA might have been corrupted so they had to compare his cells with Doreah to make sure that the sample was pure. Then there were other health concerns. Doreah had magic in her veins, Marion was a strong Force sensitive. Her father was supposedly conceived by the Force. What if the child fell to the dark side, or became dangerously unstable?

“I am sure your child will turn out good with you two raising him, or her.” She quickly added seeing Marion’s frown. “Have you thought about what names are you going to name him or her? I think Ben would be a good name, or you could name him after your father-“

She cut her off. “I didn’t come here to talk about baby names.”

“Why did you come then my daughter?”

“I am not your daughter. I will never be your daughter. You abandoned your right to be my mother the moment you mocked me and Leia, and allowed the Empire to destroy my home. People. Innocent people who had nothing to do with this struggle watched as everything and everyone they loved burned along with them.”

“War is a terrible thing. If you’ve come to make me pay for my sins, worry not. I am paying.” She turned her back and walked to the silver cross. “My supposed father had the original. A beautiful cross that Sir Thomas More gave him to remind him of his faith. My father kept the gift but took the man’s life after he refused to bow down to his will. When I found out the truth about my parentage, I freaked and I became the same person that he was towards the end of his life. Not a day goes by that I do not look at this cross, look at the face of your brothers and realize that God took them from me because of what I did. But, I am also reminded that He is merciful and that he has given me a chance to atone for my sins.” She turned back to face her. “I am sorry for the pain that I have caused you and your siblings. If I could take it all back, I would but I can’t. I can only look towards the future in the hope for a better tomorrow.”

“That is why I am here. So you can live your dreams with the man you love.” Mary furrowed her brow. “You and I are never going to be mother and daughter, but I loved my brothers, especially Owen. He was a pain in the neck sometimes but I loved him. I was tough on him so he’d become a better person than you. If you want to honor their memory, then live. If not for you then for them. Owen loved you, he looked up to you and Vader even after he found out the truth about you. Lya looks up to you for moral guidance. Why? I can’t bloody fathom why but she does and there is a child, so a part of him will still live on in his baby.”

Mary broke down in tears. She shook her head. “Nothing can bring my baby back. Nothing can substitute them. Owen … oh my god … I killed him.”

“No, you did not. They did.” She said, referring to the Naberries and Sansa. “And if you stay closeted like a nun then they win. Show them who you are, show them that you will live.”

“I can’t. You do not understand-“

“Yes, I do. When I watched my planet be destroyed, I wanted to kill myself. One of the guards taunted me and told me I should jump from the highest bridge. ‘I will let you out if you say ‘yes’.’ I was this close to accepting his offer but then I remembered my mother, my grandmother and my great-grandmother. What would they say if they saw me like this, broken and shattered?” She snickered. “Cersei would say ‘you are a lion. Have you ever seen lions cries? Now dry up those tears and show them who you are. What you do to your enemies.’ Mother would have more eloquent but no less severe: ‘Our motto is growing strong. They can try to uproot us as many times as they want, but we will always persevere. Our roots are deep and the more they beat us, the stronger we are.’ Great-grandmother would have been sharper: ‘Don’t be a dummy! Have you seen warriors cries like ninnies? Put on your armor and show them that you are ready to kill. Show them what women do to cowardly men.’ I sucked it up for their sake and mine. Now you have to suck it up too because you still have people who love you and who want to see you better, so get better or else you will sentence them to a life of misery.”

Marion was right. She had been selfish, thinking of herself. _Just like before_ -she thought. _But I can’t open my heart. Not when it could easily be shattered._ She had been a fool to think she could cheat the Lord’s will, and live happily ever after with Anakin and Ben. She was not a good person. She had done terrible things. She had to suffer and her sons were the price she had to pay for the lives she took -and ruined.

After Marion left, Lya came. She found Mary dressed in the same conservative robes. Except now she had added a headdress. A veil that covered her entire head except for her face. “Lya, what brings you here? Is it the baby? Are you two doing ok?”

“Yes, we are Mary. Mary, you have probably heard that my brother is going on tour with Bess-“

“Yes, I have heard. I am so happy for him. I saw on the news that he is going to buy you a private villa on Earth and another planet. I can’t recall which but it was one filled with lakes and plentiful forests.”

“I said no.”

“Why? You and your child will be happy there and you will be protected.”

“I know but I want to remain here with you and Anne and Anakin.”

“No, you must go. I have already lived my life. It is time you lived yours for yourself and the baby.” Mary said, unaware that she was echoing the same words that her daughter had told her hours earlier.

“Which is why I have made this decision. You were a great mother to Owen. I want my baby to know the woman who raised his father, to visit her every day and know that she is not a monster and I want you to allow Anakin to come into our lives because frankly Mary, I don’t want to see you like this. So I am going to stay here and whether you like it or not, I am going to come here as frequently as I can, and you are going to receive me and greet me with the same hospitality you showed me when I visited you aboard your ships.”

Mary was overtaken with emotion. What Marion hadn’t done, her daughter-in-law had.

* * *

“Maintain your positions!” Eddard shouted at his trainees.

“But Lieutenant Corporal-“

“But nothing! You are here to fight. Not to complain. Wars are won by strategy more than by numbers and that requires thinking and following orders.”

“But how will we follow both?”

“By obeying. To lead you have to follow first, otherwise get out and go back to something simple.” Eddard Targaryen-Stark told the whining youth. “Now listen all of you and listen well. You are citizens of the New Republic, vowed to fight for its first ever army. You were placed under my command by the Senate, including Jr. Senator Tudor who is a native to your home planet. Out there” he pointed to the screen that showed the solar system they were on. “People laugh at you. You are the butt of jokes. Now, why is that? No hands up. Well, ladies and gentlemen, here is why. Earth has been following useless gods and goddesses and the ruling caste never gave a flying fuck about any of us. They’d rather continue slaving your ancestors with useless creeds so you wouldn’t rise up. Some of you might say ‘the High Sparrow’ ‘the rebellions in the East’ or the ones in the Americas but those mean nothing. They were headed by people who also followed baseless ideas and meant to live the rest of their lives in the mud, doing nothing but singing songs about how much they loved one another. That is why the Empire’s takeover of Earth was easy. A planet who is not united but is squabbling and half of those squabbles are due to sentimentality is not fit to be respected and not fit to be paid any attention. But thankfully, you are not your ancestors. You are better. You are part of my rough-net and as such I have three simple rules: One, everyone fights. You don’t fight, I will shoot you in the leg and send you back to your mommy and daddy. If your parents are rich, then you can spend the rest of your lives living off their money, complaining about how this rude man screwed you over. Two, you follow my orders and finally three, you uphold the ideals this new republic was built on. Got it?”

“YES SIR!” Boys and girls cried in unison.

“Welcome to the rough necks.” Ned said with a wicked smile. “We are heading to Felucia where Jr. Senator Elizabeth Tudor will meet with some emissaries. You will watch me and her trained guards and if there is any trouble, I will command you to shoot. Remember: Just because the Empire was defeated, doesn’t mean that you won’t be faced with any obstacles. I studied with them, I was one of them. I know how they think and they will fight to the death to save the last glory of their doomed institution. You must do the same if you want to protect what your parents gave you.”

After his “motivational” speech he met with Admiral Piett. “That was one heck of a speech. Your father would be proud.”

“Would he? I think my mother would say ‘finally you have some manliness in you’. I told them what they needed to hear. They have been coddled all their lives and the last thing this new government needs is young men and women who only desire to be in safe bubbles so they can avoid facing the ugly monsters.” He went to his desk where his gun rested on. It was an automatic blaster that was also a security-force one, meaning that nobody could access it unless they had his thumb _. And there will be hell to pay if anyone tries to overpower me._ He put his thumb on one of the sides and the blaster immediately came to life.  
“Lock.” He said and it obeyed, putting it on his holster. “Are the preparations ready?”

“Ready. You should rest. We won’t land in over two hours. There is plenty of enough time for you to read something or converse with the Jr. Senator.”

**~o~**

Piett was right. There was more than plenty of enough time for the two of them to converse. The two of them smiled when they were finally alone in her quarters. “That was some speech you gave. Half of the people are not convinced though.”

“They will be. Once they see what the New Republic and the new Earth army will do for them, they will turn back to our side. The Empire brought them oppression, we will liberate them.”

“It is not so easy Bess. For some of them, the Empire brought them security.”

“I will bring them security too. When my mother thought I was dead, I found a way to send secret messages. After we were reunited, I promised her that I would do anything to ensure my safety. These people have been through hard times. I understand. We all have, but blaming this person or that solves nothing. They have to trust the right people, otherwise they will get nothing.” She said.

He grinned. She had spoken like a true politician -and enforcer. Taking off his jacket and throwing it on the floor, he sat next to her. “My sister refused my offer again.”

“Then do not make it to her again. Your sister is a fierce woman. She can take care of herself and she has my mother who has me. Nothing will befall on her and your nephew. I will make sure of it.”

“You do not have to promise me nothing.” Ned said. “I made a promise too.” He leaned forward and kissed her lips. A part of his envied the normal people who could give up their careers to be with the person they loved. He had given his life so he could be next to her and ensure his other loved ones’ safety, and yet he still felt miserable. **_And that is because you are not man enough to ask the question_** -he heard a voice, similar to his mother’s whisper to him in his head. _No that is not it_ -he said back. He could not ask her to marry him. She was not the kind of woman to settle down and he was not the kind of man to forsake his dreams of vengeance for a peaceful life. _We have made a commitment to our families and the new Republic, a commitment not easily broken._

* * *

 

Catherine stared down from her balcony at the hundreds of people passing by the plaza of triumph. Months ago they cheered as they humiliated my daughter. Anakin had been forced to watch. Catherine remained indoors looking down at the miniatures of her little girl. Back when she was a little girl. Innocent and naive. She hated Bella because she was so unnatural. A child stuck in a woman's body. It didn't seem right. There was a time and place for everything and after childhood passed, a woman had to grow and take destiny by the reins, otherwise she was nothing.

Underneath all her confidence, Catherine still felt like the young woman who had left Spain for England. Uncertain of what the future held. Arthur had died cradled in his mother's arms despite his protests to stay away from him. It seems so unfair. So many people had been hurt because of that foul sentiment people called "love". Anakin had betrayed the Jedi Order, Arthur had become a monster, and her daughter had become a whore. And I turned my back on my principles.

When she had visited her, she had to put an extra effort not to break into tears as her daughter greeted her, dressed in conservative dress with her head covered with a headscarf. The kind that Moriskas (former Muslim women who had converted to Christianity) wore in her native land. She told her that she was doing penance and praying twice than she ever had, and would dedicate her life to living simply so she could be forgive by the Almighty. Catherine tried to tell her that there was nothing for God to forgive but every time she spoke, Mary just smiled then grew serious and told her there was. ** _"I killed them mother. I must answer for my sins, as we all."_**

Mary. Anakin had been right. The day Mary was born was the happiest day of her life. She was everything other children were not. Healthy, perceptive and very beautiful. She was the product of her love with Obi Wan, and her ambitions. Because only he could have given me a healthy child and one I could be proud of. Obi Wan tried to deny that he was her father but sometimes when he visited she would catch him smiling at her, his eyes beaming with pride whenever she outran other children or corrected adults on things as simple as a misquotation from her favorite books.

Obi Wan appeared in that moment. "You are late. You said that you would come by supper time."

"I know but I had to try again Catherine."

Catherine smiled at him and invited him to sit next to her. "How are they?"

"Anakin is fine and so is Mary but Mary thinks that you and I shouldn't visit her anymore."

"Why? Is it something that Anakin said?"

"No, she came to this decision on her own. She still thinks she is guilty and that she has yet to pay. Anakin and others have helped her, but she still thinks that all of this is her fault."

"I always held the Naberries in a great light. A part of me still does but I can't forgive them for what they put my daughter through. Our blood. I can't. As a Christian I should but I am unable to do it."

"So am I. As the great negotiator people held me in high regard but I was just a man like everyone else and I still face many temptations. One of them I can't overcome is my anger. I have overcome many things but what they did to our daughter is something I can't." He placed a hand on top of her. It felt less colder than before. 

"I wish you could be here with me in the flesh." Catherine said.

"One day we will be together, two beings, part of the Force, living eternity together."

"But it won't be until many years. I am not sure if I can wait that long." She said.

"You must." He said and then left.

* * *

 

Jane Kyra was overseeing the construction of another educational institute. She smiled when she saw the youths cheering. Her smile faded when her comlink beeped. Oh no -she thought. 

Luke needed her again.

 _Doesn't he have Carina for that?_   
Apparently he did not. He wanted her to be part of his new academy. This is the second time he does this. His first academy was a smaller building but with many pupils who had been eager to learn about the ways of the Force. What made Luke's new Jedi Order so special was that he accepted everyone because _"everyone can learn the ways of the Force with the right training"_ -he claimed. But Jane wasn't so sure. Education was one thing, practice was another and not many were born with the aptitudes needed to be a Jedi. It was more than just brute force -she told Luke -you needed to have a high midi-chlorian count and psychic abilities and many people -due to the purges- did not. But Luke was Luke and he didn't want to listen to her. He was sure that their new order would be different.

You can do this. She told herself. But truth was that she couldn't. She couldn't say 'no' to him because every time she thought about saying 'no' she suffered pangs of guilt -and in some cases, plagued with endless nightmares. Bonded by the Force and cursed by it. Their bond was making it impossible to be away from it. "But you must." Her uncle stressed on her daily. There were things he was keeping from her and she didn't blame him for it, because whatever dangers lay ahead for them, it wasn't his responsibility to save them from them. They had to save themselves. I am not sure we will be ready though.

The new republic was off to a good start. Everything seemed golden, but the generals who had survived the Imperial defeat still eluded them and very soon a battle would be waged on Jakku by the new republic's forces which would decide the outcome of their galaxy.


	54. We are all Children of Sin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The High Sparrow once told Marion that everyone was vain and a creature of sin. Sometimes in our worst moments we wonder if that is true. If we are somehow being punished for our sins, or worse yet, for our parents' sins? As the New Republic celebrates victory, what remains of the Empire flees, but not before cementing the seeds of doubt which will blossom into a new order, one that will crush their enemies for good.

_"We are weak, vain creatures. We live only by the mother's mercy."_   
**~The High Sparrow in Game of Thrones**

Elizabeth put on the tiara that had been fashioned for her mother after she married her father. “This belonged to my mother. The original one at least, now this copy is mine. All mine.” She repeated. It seemed so surreal. She turned to see herself in the big mirror. She still couldn’t believe it. “I feel like a Queen. But I am not a Queen.”

“You are not.” Ned confirmed “But” he said quickly before she said something nasty, “it suits you. The people must see you as a symbol that reminds them of the old times before the Empire, but also something different. You are that middle ground.”

“You really think so?” Bess asked, giving him a devilish smile.

“I know so.” He said, grinning back.

* * *

Sansa chortled. Her son was an idiot. “I told you the boy would fail. Didn’t I tell you that the boy would fail?”

“Yes, you did mother and what good did that do?”

“Do not try to blame this on me. I wanted your son to take on the big responsibilities that your father took on since before you and Jon sent him and Lyanna to the Academy. At his age he was fighting wars, dispensing justice. What has your son done so far to prove himself? Licking that girl’s boots?”

“My son has done no such thing! He loves his sister. It has always been his weakness.” She said. The last sentence came as a whisper. “Mother, if there was another way-“

But her mother cut her off, “There is none.” She said. “You gave your offspring everything we gave to you. Your father and I could have not been prouder of the accomplished young lady you turned out to be. But as you got older, you got to see the world and experienced it and you became a monster. That’s not something I say lightly. Monsters are very demonized nowadays, thanks to the Skywalker bastards and their ilk. But it is monsters that make the world spin -My father said that to me before he sent my older sister, your late aunt Lysa away after she fell pregnant with Petyr’s baby. She loved him but that babe would have disgraced our family and family -he always said- must always come first. It is the family name that lives on. The more brutal we are, the better we are at protecting our loved ones. I have done things that I am not proud of -and I know you’ve done things you are not proud of- but if we had to choose between being morally pure and killing millions to protect our family, we would not hesitate and choose the latter. You Sansa are our greatest achievement. Your father was a great warrior and he loved all of his children very much, including your husband. He loved him so much that he was willing to have others question his honor by making them think he was his bastard. Thankfully, we all discovered the truth and his legacy lives on through you.” She paused, then added: “Your father’s name and mine will die with Ned. If Catherine de Medici’s seer was right, she’ll die. Her child will probably die as well. What a waste …” She sighed. “That leaves you. You must continue with your father’s legacy. The Tully legacy. You are a Tully and a Stark, you must not let our family name be forgotten. Show our enemies what it feels to lose what they love. Remind them who you are.”

She hugged her and said with a note of finality that convinced Sansa of what she had to do: “I will always be with you, no matter what you decide but I hope you make the right choice, Sansa.”

* * *

Lyanna felt the baby kick again. She had gone to the new Jedi healer next to Anne’s home. He told her that everything was going fine and recommended a new diet. Lyanna started eating more greens and specialized drinks that boosted her child’s immune system.

As she felt another kick, this one stronger than before, her smile waned. “I wish your father could be here. He’d probably be freaking out or making an idiot of himself and telling Ned how great married life was. Your uncle Ned will be there but if your father were here, you’d be greeted by a married uncle with a lovely wife who’s as dutiful as he is.”

Owen’s death had changed Ned for the worse. He had become a recluse. Sure, he waved at the crowds and was with Bess at every progress, but his eyes were devoid of any emotion. Even when he smiled, he seemed cold and distant. Girls followed him everywhere, hoping he’d sign their data-pads or smile back at them so they could have something interesting to tell to their friends. They were practically throwing themselves at his feet but he hardly noticed. _He only has eyes for one woman. But that woman is as dutiful as he is._ The two of them were married to their careers and they were determined to make changes to the Republic that would put the Earth in better standing than it had been. They didn’t want the Republic to see it as just another ‘backwater hick planet’. They wanted to turn Earth into a first world power, a progressive voice for others, proof that even the most backward people could change when the future of their species was at stake.  
_We have always considered terrestrials the “Other” but they are just like us. Ned still doesn’t think they can be better but he is trying for her._ _And because he has nothing else to do._ Her brother’s intentions also had another reason: vengeance. Making Earth into a first world power meant that the Naberries would be brought down from their pedestal.  _What worse humiliation than seeing a former Imperial and son of two infamous terrestrials, despite not considering himself one, create one of the best armies in the galaxy and with its two senators, bring prosperity to his native planet, outranking Naboo_?

Deep down, she knew her struggles were far from over. The battle of Jakku had been won. The war was over -the holo-reporters said. The new republic reigned supreme. Democracy had won. But everyone knew better. Until the last remnants of the Empire were found and dealt with, this war would never be over.

“Until my mother and her mother is dead and the Naberries lose what they love.” She said, echoing her brother’s feelings. She was never going to let it go. She admired Mary for being so strong and forgiving, but she could never be like that. Lyanna was of the blood of the wolf and the dragon, her kind never forgave and never forget. And her child was of the dragon as well -twice over! The Tudors boasted of descending from the legendary Arthur Pendragon who was blessed by the red dragon. Some believed that he was a Jedi with Valyrian blood. Her son would be hunted down by the Imperials who saw her and Ned as traitors. Therefore, she had to remain strong and alert. With a pistol on her hip -despite her very pregnant state- and a sword underneath her pillow, she was prepared for everything.

* * *

 

“Carina?” Luke asked groggily feeling someone shaking him lightly.

“No, it is me.”

Luke opened his eyes. There was the woman he had been dreaming about for the past year and whom he had been calling non-stop following the battle of Jakku. His half-sister, the other sun twin, Jane Kyra Skywalker.

There was something different about her. He was tempted to ask but he had long since learn not to press too hard on his sister. There were times when he wondered if his father had poisoned her against him. Is this why she is here? To tell me that she is going? That she is leaving me forever and is going to escape with my father and her mother?

He wouldn’t put it past to his father to entertain some bold attempt but given the poor mental state his stepmother was, there was no chance the three of them would live a happy life. If that is what she has come to tell me, I will make her see the error of her ways. Luke was good at that. His sister was his other half and it was their destiny to rebuild the Jedi Order. He wasn’t going to let her throw it all away.

But to his bigger shock, she said nothing. Instead, as if hearing his thoughts, she lifted her eyes, took a step closer and kissed him.

“Jane, what is this? Pray tell me, what has changed you?

“You. I thought about what you have been saying and you are right.” She said then lifted her lip muscles upward slowly, very slowly, until her face showed a pleasing smile which made her look more radiant.

Strange, he thought as he smiled and kissed her back. She looked other-worldly but not herself. She was always beautiful, but she didn’t look like the natural beauty she had always been. It was as if he was dreaming, but he knew he wasn’t. So what was this? He brushed those concerns away as she moved her hands underneath his shirt.

* * *

 

When her labor came, she woke up drenched in sweat. She could feel the contractions. Each one more painful than the one that came before. She screamed for the physician and healers. They came right away and so did Mary and Anakin, Anne and Catherine. They were informed by one of these healers. Mary tried getting the message across Ned but Ned was busy battling some of the last pieces of resistance from the Empire.

Ned was not force-sensitive but he had magic in his veins. Part Targaryen, double Stark and Tully made for a strong combination and his father had been brought back to life with the dark side of the Force through Melisandre’s magic. It was one of the reasons why Anakin feared for Lyanna’s life. It wasn’t just a dragon and wolf she was carrying but a strong Force-sensitive. He closed his eyes and tried to reach Ned, when he finally did, Ned screamed his sister’s name and rushed to the nearest ship. Bess accompanied him, not wishing to leave his side.

Dear God, if you can hear my prayers do not let Lyanna and her child die. Mary silently prayed. He mother and Anne were also praying.

When Ned and Bess finally arrived, they were told that they had to make a C-section, otherwise they risked losing them both. “No! You can’t cut her open. There must be another way.” Ned asked, his eyes flashing furiously at the med droid who exhibited no emotion.

“I am sorry Lieutenant, but there is no other way. If we do not operate now, we risk losing her and her daughter.”

“Daughter? I thought she was having a son.”

“No sir, she is having a daughter.”

Ned closed his eyes. As the head of their family, everyone looked to him. He couldn’t decide. He shook his head. “This can’t be how it all ends. I won’t let you cut my sister open. There must be another way!”

“Ned do not shout. Thank you for your services L-T1. Give us a moment.” Always cordial, Elizabeth’s civility was a tribute to herself, that made even the coldest of folks, including the metal beings nod their heads in respect to her.

The droid bowed his head and turned on his heel, going back to Lyanna’s bedchamber.

“Ned you did not have to shout. You are not going to help your sister by being angry.”

“I have every right to be angry. You always talk about England and your experiences but you do not know what I have lived, I did not have my father brand me illegitimate. I had my wife die and have to live with the knowledge that I had to turn my back on the Empire I swore to protect for the high and mighty English.”

“Then why don’t you get the hell out of here and stop fighting for us and join your precious Empire.”

“You do not have to be so sensitive about it. I am stating fact.”

“So am I! I am sick of you lamenting and being angry all the time. You are with us, and whether you like it or not, you are going to be stuck with me for the rest of your life and as the head of your family, it is up to you make a decision so instead of blaming everyone and thinking yourself all high and mighty like the people you hate-“

“I never said I hate them.”

“Do something!”

Ned opened his mouth but couldn’t find the right words. He turned to Anakin. The former dark lord of the Sith gave him a stern look so did the former Queen Consorts of Henry VIII. Mary looked at him with pity but her eyes told him that she agreed with what Bess told him.

He growled “Fine. Bring the fucking droid back in and cut her but if something happens to them-“

“Nothing will Ned and if it does it will not be me, Anakin, Mary, Catherine, Anne or anybody else and it sure as hell won’t be you either.”

Bess had always been gentle. Stern but gentle and always responded to his angry outburst whenever news came of his mother still being on the run and planning new attacks with the surviving officials who had formed a shadow council, with “I understand” but like everything, she had her limits and she had finally reached hers with his childish outburst.

Anakin walked to him and whispered “Start acting like a true official. Your father faced many battles and he was angry all the time but he learned to keep his emotions to himself. Instead of blaming those around him, he rose up to the challenge to prove everyone wrong.” He then added: “I suggest you do the same. Your sister needs her brother not another angry and pitiful face. She’s had enough of that with the Nabooians.”

“I do not have to listen to-“

“You do. You said you respected me, you sure as hell do not look like you do.” As the doors of Lyanna’s chamber opened again the droid came out. Everyone was looking at him expectantly and Anakin cleared his throat again and said “We have reached a decision.”

Mary told Ned “It is okay. It will be alright Ned. We are here and so is your sister.”

“I am not ready to say goodbye to her. I already lost a friend and a father, I can’t lose her. This cannot be how it all ends!”

“But it might and if it does, your sister needs you to promise that you will protect her child and she needs to see her entire family united and that includes the woman you just shouted at. She cares for your sister as much as we all do, if she didn’t she would have slapped you and left you by now.”

“Anakin-“

“No, let him Mary. Master Targaryen-Stark you were a credit to the Empire and you are a credit now to the New Republic, do not test our limits because this happens to be my house and this state is next to Catherine of Aragon’s and according to Naboo law, Lieutenant, royalty or not, we have every right to kick you out if we wish. So put your anger aside and listen to my daughter, because in case you haven’t noticed, she is the only one from the two of you with common sense.”

Ned shifted his eyes from Anakin, Anne and Elizabeth. He was aware of Anne Boleyn’s nasty side, but he had not been privy to it until now and her words stroke a higher chord than Anakin and her daughter’s. He turned to the droid and nodded.

“We will operate right away. The tools are ready. Healer Arano will keep you informed of our progress.” The droid gestured to the Healer who was a Force-Sensitive student of Luke Skywalker’s new academy. She went inside with the droids after the physician called her.

Anne gave her former rival a gentle smile. “When Elizabeth was born I thought I was going to die. I had never experienced pain like that, not even when I had contracted the sweat, I did not hurt as much but I forgot all about it when my daughter was placed in my arms.” Elizabeth smiled at her mother. “I still remember how you tried to wiggle free from your nurses when they took you away from me. I had to tell them ‘give her to me one more time’ and rock you for an hour until you were finally asleep.”

“That’s a good story, mama.” Elizabeth said and Anne’s heart jumped with joy at hearing her daughter call her ‘mama’ again like she did when she was a child. She turned to Ned. “You are not alone Ned, everything will be alright. Whatever happens.” She squeezed his hand. Tighter than she ever had and he knew at that moment that he had a partner for life _. No, an ally_. He would not think of her less. Elizabeth was a child born of religious schism, she was a political animal and as such he was going to give her the respect that was owed to her.

“When Mary was born I was worried as well. All of my other pregnancies had ended in miscarriages and my only boy died before he was a year old.” Catherine said looking to Anne and her daughter, then shifted her glance to Elizabeth. “You are lucky to have a mother like Anne Boleyn. You have turned into a bright, young woman lady Elizabeth and the Earth and the galactic Senate in having you as Senator. May the odds continue to favor you.”

“So is Mary.” Anne said to Catherine. “You have always been a good mother, Catherine. Never doubt that. Mary agrees, right?”

“Yes.” Mary said, smiling gently at her mother. Catherine went to stand next to her daughter and then in a gesture that surprised her, she did something she hadn’t done in a long time and hugged her. “I have always been thankful to God for you. I wish I had seen you for the woman you were and not the person I wanted you to become. I am so sorry for everything.”

“Do not be mother, it is me who should be sorry. I let anger take control of me and I did many terrible things but I pray that God doesn’t punish me by punishing Lyanna.” She glanced at Ned, giving him an apologetic look.

Anakin turned his head away. _She still thinks this is all her fault._ Would Mary ever be free of guilt? Turning back, he guessed not. And he guessed correctly because as soon as Lyanna’s screams were heard again, they were joined by her newborn’s.

“Lyanna!” Ned screamed and burst through those doors before the Healer came out. “No.” He breathed, feeling powerless as he felt his sister’s life-force drift away. He leaned forward and gripped her hand, desperately begging her to cling to life. “Ned, promise me you will protect her.”

“No, you won’t die. You can’t die. You are my sister, the one who always beat me in everything.”

“It is alright Ned, I have seen father. He is calling to me. I am ready to join him.”

“No, you are not.” He could not cry. He was -as he had told her and Owen when he revealed to them of the woman and unborn child he lost at the Death Star- dead inside. Everything his uncle Bran saw when he had experienced their grandmother’s sad fate, Ned saw and he found himself in the same boat as his namesake and grandfather. It was until now that he felt the dark substance in Lyanna’s hands. Blood.

She gave him a weak smile. She did not appear afraid. _How can she be?_ She is Lyanna. The girl whom everyone was afraid at Hux’s Academy. Even some of Vader’s death troopers feared taking her on, on the training room.

“It will be alright.” She said, repeating what Bess told him earlier. “Do not lose hope, Ned. Remember who you are, where we come from. We are of the blood of the dragon, of wolves, we do not let petty things like this break us. Do not break. Promise me you will continue to be strong.”

“I promise.” He said, but his words felt hollow. Then she closed her eyes. He barely registered Mary’s cries, Catherine’s whimpers, Anne’s comforting words to the latter, or Anakin Skywalker comforting the former. All he could see was his sister, her lying form on the bloody bed, the healer, physician giving him ‘sorry’ glances. As if that would solve everything. He felt Bess’ presence near, her words brought him back from his nightmare -one that he would never wake up- as he looked at the bundle she carried.

She had asked permission from the Healer to take her since Mary and Catherine were too distraught to do so.

“Ned, someone wants to meet you.”

He looked down at his niece. His niece! The one responsible for killing his sister. He wanted to grab that baby and feed it to the wolves or whatever wild creatures roamed Naboo, but as soon as the babe opened her eyes, he saw his sister staring back at him.

There was no mistake, she was a Kenobi and a Tudor. She had dark auburn hair like Mary, but the rest of her features were Stark ones, except for her eyes which were violet like her Targaryen ancestors.

Elizabeth handed her to him and uncertain, he said “Hi.” The babe locked eyes with him, intrigued by the new face. “I am your uncle.”

She responded with a timid smile. She is like Owen in that. Owen had been shy when he entered the Academy. In less than a year he had become an extrovert and made many friends, but he always knew who were his true friends. _You will not meet your ancestors’ ends. I will make sure of it_.

* * *

Marion's mother told her that the High Sparrow had told her and her grandmother that they were all children of sin and every evil that befell them was because the Gods were displeased with them. It seemed that way to some, including some of the new youth who didn't have any religious beliefs but still clung to some of their ancestors' old superstitions. They saw Lyanna Tudor's death as a proof that the New Republic was as corrupt as the old one, and that the Naberries, one wealthy family standing as one of the greatest contributors for many senators, as no different than the dynasties that once controlled the Galactic Senate and their local representatives on their respective homeworlds.

Marion and Leia tried their best, along with Mon, Jane and Elizabeth, to calm these growing factions but no words could convince them that everything they had fought for, was worth-wile.

The way that the Lady Mary had been treated, Inquisitor or not, had been unconstitutional and in the New Republic's greatest mistakes and growing bureaucracy, the Imperial remnants saw a chance. Their forces were diminishing. They would not stand a chance against the New Republic's army, especially under the command of former Imperial officers like Piett and Ned Targaryen-Stark. But in time, with enough recruits who will be the result of growing discontent among the future youth, they would. 

Sansa was not proud of what she had done. Of the many things she had done which had sullied her reputation, but it was better than doing nothing and she had learned from the best liar and schemer the Earth had ever seen, that the best way to deal with your enemies was by deceiving them. Let them see what they wanted to see. Marion's half brother was a dreamer, but he was also ambitious and she saw a darkness in his eyes that she had previously seen in her husband. Her mother had helped her achieve the last of her plans before returning to the shadow council, joining them on their next mission. Her mother had arranged a new match for her, a man who needed no introduction. General Brendol Hux. His ideas were not so revolutionary as his ambitions. He knew he would not live to see the day when the New Order was destroyed, but the mere thought of it, drove him.  
They would explore the unknown regions, outside of their galaxy and find what the Emperor was searching and when they did, they would return and create a new order. One that would surpass the Empire and would crush their enemies once and for all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of Part 1 of this saga. I don't know when I might do the sequel. I have not read the sequel to the first Aftermath book, so I need to read that to get more up to date with the new canon. I have read all other books and comics but I need to get my hands on that before I write the next chapter of this saga. Thanks to all of you who sent kudos, bookmarked and reviewed this story. I hope you stay tuned to all my other stories and the sequel and please review this last chapter! Your reviews are what keeps this thing going.


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